New Starts, New Hope, New Dreams
by FrontlinersShadow
Summary: Harry is transported to the Pokemon world right before his fifth year. No pairings
1. Chapter 1

Waving off his concerned friends, Harry made his way to the backyard, giving a deep sigh as he did so. He had gotten back from the Ministry with Mr. Weasley from his trial, which went better than anyone could have hoped. Sitting down in the back of the overgrown yard, hidden from the view of the house, Harry mused over what had happened. Because some lady, who to Harry reminded him of a pink pig, demanded proof that there were Dementors in Surrey, Harry had shot back saying that they could easily question him under Veritaserum or take his memories and while they were at it could also find out what happened the night of the Third Task.

While the lady and Minister Fudge tried to back track, saying not to, Amelia Bones thought it was a great idea and went with Harry's suggestions. Both confirmed what he had been saying concerning both the Dementor attack and the graveyard incident, proving everyone who was there a Death Eater and showing that Peter Pettigrew was alive. Harry was immediately found innocent and his words true and left with a slightly stunned Mr. Weasley and his Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

After they returned, Harry gave everyone the good news, which the Weasley Twins, Fred and George, along with his Godfather, Sirius, decided that this called for a party. The teen left as soon as he could without hurting anyone's feelings, but while he was heading up to his room to rest, overheard Dumbledore talking with Alastor Moody, Severus Snape, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Apparently, Moody was so into the conversation that he didn't even see Harry with his magical eye. They were discussing the war and Harry's part in it. From what he understood, the fate of the Wizarding World rested on his shoulders, and his alone. If he fell, the world would belong to Voldemort.

Shell-shocked by this information, the emerald-eyed teen had stumbled downstairs, suddenly wanting fresh air and out of the oppressing house. Though Ron and Hermione saw he was troubled and tried to follow him, the two backed off at his gesture; he didn't see two more sets of eyes watching him worriedly and that their owners planned on having a conversation later when everything calmed down, they left to discuss what they saw.

Harry sat under the trees, the sunlight speckled on the ground causing a slight glow in his little haven. _'The fate of the world is on my shoulders. Man I must have pissed Fate off in a past life…'_ Harry thought amusedly, though the emotion didn't reach his eyes. _'Seems I get out of one mess and into a larger one next, no time to just be a teen. I don't think I've ever been a teenager, or even a kid for that matter. The Dursleys certainly took care of that.' _Harry stretched out, eyes closed and enjoying the slight breeze. _'Now that I think about it, I was forced to grow up fast with them, then even more when I get to the magical world. I never had a childhood, or even a family. The Muggles certainly weren't family worthy. I want to know what that's like…'_ He trailed off in his own thoughts, listening to the silence around him, though it was broken by…

"Mew?" A voice asked with a slight echo to it. Harry snapped open his eyes, only to rub them to make sure he wasn't seeing anything. Three strange things were floating in front of him, watching him with playful eyes. The first one was a pink, feline-esque creature with large soft blue eyes and a long, thin tail that broadens at the end. It twirled effortlessly in the air around him and the second creature.

This one was a green fairy-like creature. It had round toe-less feet, three-fingered hands, and clear wings on its back. It also had a round head that comes to a point and sticks upward in the back. It has large baby-blue eyes, with thick black rings around them, and a pair of green antennae that are tipped blue. It smiled when Harry looked at him, giggling and Harry thought it was saying 'Bi' over and over again. It looked to its last companion.

It was an off white-blue color, had short, stubby limbs, and its arms had flaps that gave it the appearance of having long-sleeves. On its stomach was a curved seam. It had teal triangles on its face under its eyes. It appeared to be wearing a three point light gold headdress that had a metallic gleam and resembled a star. On each of the three points was a teal-colored tag. On its back were two streamers, which flowed behind it like the tail of a comet. All three were about the size of the stuffed toys a child would carry around.

Harry blinked, surprised, "Hello there, I'm Harry. Do you have names?" He felt a little silly talking to the creatures certain they couldn't talk back. What happened next shocked him.

"Mew." The pink one said, doing a somersault in the air.

"Celebi." The green one said, twirling around.

"Jirachi." The third went, giving a little bow, and then giggling, the other two joining in.

Harry couldn't help himself, he laughed along with them, feeling happier than he had in a long time. The three just made him feel younger for some reason, like he was a child. Mew floated close to his face, watching him unblinkingly. Harry stared right back, a smirk slowly coming on his face. "Boo!" He shouted, though not loud enough to draw attention from the house.

"Mew!" Mew squeaked, tumbling backwards in the air, Jirachi and Celebi laughing at Harry's trick. They started scaring each other, Mew floating back up and playing with them. The three started talking to one another, just using their names. Or at least Harry thought they were talking to each other, he couldn't be sure.

"I wish I could understand you guys, I could ask you what you are and where you came from. I'm pretty sure you aren't magical creatures from here, since I can't sense anything from you." Harry said offhandedly. He was surprised when Jirachi closed its eyes and started to glow slightly. A beam of light shot from Jirachi to Harry, shocking him slightly. He felt something happen to his mind, something forming there.

"What in Merlin's name was that?"

"_I granted your wish, silly." _Harry's eyes shot up to Jirachi, who seemed to be smirking playfully.

"Did you just talk?"

_"Yup! You wanted to be able to understand us, so I made it so you can understand all Pokémon! Though, to other humans we still sound like we're saying our names." _Harry sat there for a second, mouth open.

"Wicked…wait, so you're called Pokémon? Are there more of you?"

_"There aren't more of 'us' but there are hundreds of other types of Pokémon." _Mew said, sitting on Harry's head, much to the bemused teen's amusement. _"We're what you call Legendary Pokémon, meaning there's only one of us, and sightings of us are extremely rare, so rare that most people don't even believe we exist, though it's more peaceful that way."_

"So where do you guys come from? And why are you here?" Harry asked, leaning back again. Jirachi sat on his shoulder, while Celebi made itself comfortable in his lap.

_"We come from another world entirely, well more like a different dimension."_ Celebi tried to explain. _"It makes my head hurt trying to think about that kind of stuff, so I just go with it. We were just having fun in our world, when suddenly we found ourselves floating over this land. We flew around for awhile when we heard your thoughts." _It explained at Harry's confused expression._ "All three of us are telepathic."_ Harry nodded, thoughtful and curious.

"What's your world like?"

With a grin, the three Pokémon took turns describing their world, the Pokémon there, and some of the humans they've met. They went into detail describing Pokémon 'Trainers', humans who caught Pokémon and went around battling for fun or competitions. On how most humans traveled all over their world to battle 'Gym Leaders' and the like. Harry sat with them for an hour, listening fascinated at their tale.

"Wow…your world sounds fantastic! I wish I could see it, but with everything happening here I couldn't." Harry said sadly, eyes shadowed.

_"Why? What's happening?"_ Mew asked.

"Well, in this world there are people with special powers, magic…" And he started explaining everything he knew about the Wizarding world. He told them about the people, the Ministry, the school, and even his part in it. The Pokémon were quiet as he told them his tale, finishing with,

"And apparently I'm the only one who can end all of this. But it's kind of depressing, really."

_"We heard your thoughts about you wanting a childhood, and a family…"_ Jirachi trailed off; Harry nodded.

"I was forced to grow up fast at my relatives, then even more so here in the magical world. I never got to be a kid, growing up with family who loved me. I don't remember if I ever had any fun as a child."

_"You know…we could give you that."_ Celebi started. _"You could come to our world; you said you wanted to see it. And no one from here would know that you even left unless you told them. You could stay for years there, and they would never know."_

"How in the world would you do that?" Harry asked shocked. The fairy-like Pokémon grinned.

_"I'm the Time Travel Pokémon, able to go back and forth through time at will. You could leave now, and be returned a second later." _This was sounding really tempting to Harry.

"What about growing older? Wouldn't they notice that?"

_"We can take care of that easily."_ Mew said happily.

_"If you do go, there will be some changes to your body."_ Jirachi said. _"Also, while you will keep your ability to talk to any Pokémon, you won't be able to use your magic like you do in this world, at least while you're in our world. There may be some other changes but we don't know what they might be."_

"I can deal with that, I've had worse." Harry chuckled. "Is there anything I need to know or do?"

_"Tell the humans who ask that you're an orphan, but you don't remember anything other than that and your name and anything personal wise, everything else is fine. This way gives more freedom to travel. Don't tell them you're from another world, only a Legendary Pokémon could have taken you and that'll draw attention to you, you don't want." _Celebi started; Mew went next.

_"We'll transport you to the home town of a close human friend of ours, and everyone in the town is very kind. We'll also give you basic knowledge of the Pokémon in the world, though you'll still have to explore it yourself. But that's half the fun!" _Harry nodded.

"Alright, I'm up for it. Let's go!"

The three Pokémon began to glow, causing Harry to glow as well. The black haired teen floated up into the air, and right before he disappeared, he thought he saw something appear in the bushes next to him, and then all went black.

Groaning, Harry blearily opened his eyes. He saw that he was surrounded by huge trees and that it was about the same time of day as it had been when he'd left his old world. He sat up and noticed two things. The first was that his new friends were gone, and the second was everything was a lot bigger looking. Harry looked down at his hands, and saw that they were smaller than he was used to seeing.

"What the heck?" He muttered, standing up, or, well, trying to. The clothes he wore were swallowing his body, which was smaller than he remembered. He recalled Jirachi saying there would be changes to his body so he didn't panic too much.

"They shrank me!" Gathering up the clothes as best as he could, he walked over to a stream nearby. Looking at his reflection caused him to gasp softly. Staring back at him was definitely Harry Potter, but at least two years younger, maybe himself at the start of third year.

"Great, I'm a midget again." Harry mock-groaned. He stood straighter and looked around. He was apparently on the edge of the forest because it ended a few feet away. Through the gaps, he could make out a few houses, and on a hill was some sort of big building with a huge white and red ball on the top. "Pokeball…that's what those are called." Harry recalled through his new memories from the Legendaries.

He started walking through the trees, having to abandon his huge shoes in the process. Breaking free from the forest, he made his way to the closest house. Very homely looking with a beautiful garden around it and a white picket fence, Harry liked it immediately. Outside was a clown or jester like Pokémon with a woman in her thirties with red-brown hair in a low pony tail wearing a pink shirt with an open yellow blouse and dark blue skirt and shoes, both taking care of the garden. Harry walked towards them, hoping they could tell them where he was and a place he could stay.

The Pokémon noticed him first, and called towards the lady,

_"Ma'am, someone's here!"_

"What is it Mr. Mime?" The lady asked, standing up. The Mr. Mime pointed towards Harry, who suddenly felt very shy. "Why hello there, where did you come from? Come on inside, you look like you need a good meal. This is my Mr. Mime, and I'm Delila Ketchum."


	2. Chapter 2

"Thank you, Ms. Ketchum. I'm Harry." Harry said thankfully; he was a little hungry. Inside the house was neat and tidy, with picture frames all over the place, the main one's being of a black haired youth wearing a red and white cap with a yellow mouse-like Pokémon on his shoulder, each one holding a different award or ribbon in each photo. Most of the same awards were on mantle in the living room, where Mr. Mime led Harry.

_"Please sit, I'll be right back."_ He said, not expecting an answer and walked out. A few minutes later Delila and Mr. Mime came out with sandwiches and drinks. Sitting the platter down on the coffee table, the duo sat across from Harry.

"Please help yourself." Delila said with a smile, taking a sandwich.

"Thank you again ma'am. Who is that in the photos? There are an awful lot of them." Harry asked politely.

"Those of are my son Ash, a Pokémon Trainer, and his Pikachu. Whenever he comes home he brings awards for me to display."

"He must be a great Trainer for so many awards." His hostess smiled.

"He is, and though I worry about him all the time, I'm so proud of him." The three finished off the sandwiches in silence, just enjoying the quiet. "There now dear, I bet you feel a lot better now you're filled."

"Yes, Ms. Ketchum, they were delicious." Harry said with a grin. Mr. Mime took the platter away, humming contently as he did so.

"Now Harry, what brought you here in such a state? Those clothes are way too big for you, and you shouldn't be wondering around all alone, not without a parent or something." Delila asked, concern shining in her eyes. Harry's own eyes shadowed slightly with sadness,

"My parents died in an accident when I was a baby." '_Sort of true'_ "I did live with some relatives, but they wanted nothing to do with me, in any way, shape, or form. These clothes belonged to my much larger cousin, because they didn't want to spend good money on a freak and a burden. I ran away, not being able to take it anymore; I never want to see or hear from them ever again." _'Pretty much true, I just didn't run away.'_ Delilah's heart went out to the child, her maternal instincts kicking in. She pulled Harry into a hug, feeling him stiffen slightly but ignored it.

"You will just stay here with me, there's plenty of room. And I won't hear another word about it."

_'She's giving off the same feeling as Mrs. Weasley did,'_ Harry thought, still in the hug. "Thank you, ma'am, I promise not to be a burden."

"You'll never be a burden to me or anyone. You're much too sweet," she said, pulling away from the hug. She giggled at the blush on Harry's face. "Now, you go clean up, I'll fish out some of Ash's old clothes for you to wear until I can make you some more or we go shopping in Viridian. Pallet doesn't have any stores, only problem with the town." She said with a sigh. Delila led Harry to the bathroom, walking past a sweeping Mr. Mime. "Mimey, could you prepare the guest room for Harry? He'll be staying with us for awhile."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

"Just leave your old clothes outside the door; I'll get rid of them. I don't think you'll want them anymore?" She smirked at him playfully, gently shoving him into the bathroom.

_'Yup, definitely Mrs. Weasley.'_ Harry thought amusedly. Doing as told, Harry dumped his old clothes outside the door and hopped into the shower. Ten minutes later he got out, towel around his waist and one drying his hair. Hearing the door quietly open, he saw Mr. Mime's hands holding out a small pile of clothes, even some shoes with them.

"Thanks Mr. Mime." Harry said, taking the clothes. Though they were a little big, they fit him pretty well. The clothes were just a plain green shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. Throwing the towels into the hamper, Harry left the steamy bathroom. Delila was sitting at the kitchen table with some material. "Thank you, Ms. Ketchum, the clothes fit really well."

She looked up and smiled, "I'm glad, now come here for a minute, I need to take some measurements. Afterwards, Mr. Mime will show you to your room; I'm sure you're tired. I'll wake you later." Harry held out his arms for the woman to get his measurements.

"Thank you very much, ma'am. I am a little tired."

A few minutes later, a bleary eyed Harry was shown to his new room. The colors were ivory and cream, the furniture a bed, dresser, and a side table. Pretty nice for just a guest room. Collapsing on the soft bed, Harry was out like a light. When Delila went to wake him for dinner that night, she saw that Harry looked so exhausted that she just let him sleep as long as he could.

Harry woke with a start early the next morning, hand covering his mouth to muffle his screams. He had another nightmare about Voldemort's doings, though he wasn't sure if this was just a repeat of something he'd seen before or if it was a vision. Looking out his window, he saw dawn was beginning to break. With a sigh he got out of bed, stretching as he did so. Out of habit he checked his drawers for something to wear, temporarily forgetting what had happened the day before. Inside were new clothes, the perfect size for him which caused the memories to all return.

"I'm in a new world…man everything weird really does happen to me." He muttered to himself, smiling slightly. He quickly changed and then wondered what he should do until Delila woke up. Hit with a sudden idea, he quickly and quietly made his way to the kitchen, absently wondering where Mr. Mime slept. He went to the fridge and got out some bacon, eggs, sausage, pancake mix, the whole nine yards. He wanted to treat the two who took him in to a great breakfast, and thanks to the Dursleys he could cook, but since they always criticized everything he did he wasn't sure if it was good or not.

Thirty minutes later, Mr. Mime walked in to the smell of breakfast cooking. Seeing Harry standing there fixing everything as well as cleaning everything as he did so surprised the Pokémon.

_"You don't have to do that, that's usually my or Delilah's job."_ He chastised gently, starting to help Harry.

"I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to do something for you two. You've been very kind to me." Harry said, shocking the Pokémon.

_"You can understand me?"_

"Yeah, it's an ability of mine. I don't like to tell a lot of people about it…" Harry trailed off, eyes glazed slightly as he was caught in memories. Mr. Mime, seeing the look in the child's eyes, said,

_"Thank you for the meal. Do you know how to make Pokémon food?"_ His distraction worked. Harry blinked and came back to his senses and replied he didn't know how. _"Here, I'll show you…"_ Quickly the Psychic Pokémon fixed up a batch of food for himself, Harry watching his moves carefully. _"And there we have it. Now you try, if you want, you could try adding extra things for flavors. Who knows what you can come up with? I'll set the table."_

Mr. Mime left to do its task, while Harry started to prepare it with some food. He basically followed the directions, but used his instincts on adding certain things. When Mr. Mime came back, Harry held out a bowl uncertainly. The Pokémon took a bite and its eyes widened,

_"This is fantastic! Best PokeFood I've ever had!"_ Blushing, Harry mumbled something incoherently and grabbed some the rest of the food. Taking it to the dining room, he saw Delila just sitting down.

"Good morning, Ms. Ketchum." Harry said and sat down as well. Mr. Mime followed him, holding the bowl of PokeFood Harry made and munching happily.

"Morning Harry….Harry, did you make all of this?" Delila asked curiously.

Harry blushed and ducked his head, "Yes ma'am. I wanted to do something for you and Mr. Mime as thanks for taking me in like this, and for everything you've done for me so far. I always wake up early and thought this would be a good start."

The woman nodded and took a bite of her breakfast; her eyes widened just like her Pokémon's, "Harry, this is delicious! Who taught you to cook like this?"

Harry tried to fight down his monster blush. "My relatives' ma'am forced me to do everything for them; I've cooked for them since I can remember. I never knew though if it was any good because they criticized everything that I did." Harry replied, eating his own food. Delilah's eyes darkened slightly at the mention of Harry's relatives, just as Mr. Mime's did, but brightened again when she said,

"Well, your cooking is excellent. Reminds me of a professional chef." She laughed when Harry turned beet red again.

After breakfast and cleaning everything up, the trio went outside to tend to the garden for a few hours. Harry once again impressed the two with his knowledge of this and helped them tremendously. Nearing noon, they headed inside for lunch, made by Mr. Mime. During which, Delila turned on the TV and together they watched different programs about Pokémon, from their care, to battles, to where they could be found. After lunch they cleaned whatever needed cleaning in the house and when that was done, they sat down and played games together. The three had a great time playing all the games (though Harry was certain Mr. Mime used his abilities to cheat at certain points) and at last, they had dinner made by Delila and went to bed. This was the norm for a few days, the trio growing closer as a family, when Delila decided to change things a bit.

After breakfast one day Delila said, "Harry, I need to go to see a friend of mine, Professor Oak. Would you like to come with me? You could see all of the Pokémon he takes care of."

Nodding in agreement, Harry and Delila left the house in the care of Mr. Mime and make the short walk to the Pokémon Prof.'s lab. The emerald eyed youth shied behind Delila as they walked in and were greeted by an older man, maybe in his sixties, wearing an open lab coat with grey hair and large dark eyebrows. He gave off the air of a grandfather just like Dumbledore; he liked the older man immediately.

"Delila! How are you doing?" The man greeted, shaking hands with Delila.

"Just fine Prof. Oak. I want you to meet someone. This is Harry; he's staying with me for a while." She said, pulling the shy boy out into view.

Oak kneeled down to be more eye-level and smiled warmly, "Hello Harry. My name is Prof. Oak." Harry smiled slightly, shaking the offered hand lightly. Oak stood up again, smile still on his face, "Let's go out back. We can have something to drink and Harry can play with the Pokémon out in the pastures."

Harry smiled more when he heard this, causing the adults to grin to themselves. They made their way to the bag of the lab and walked out into the bright sunshine. Out back were rolling hills, with ponds and trees scattered about. Some areas were more dirt and desert. As well as areas that were extremely muddy. And all kinds of Pokémon were everywhere, lounging, playing, racing, fighting, you name it.

"Just be careful, but go ahead and play. Most of them are just fine with humans, and nearly all Pokémon love kids." Oak said happily, sitting down on the patio with Delila. Feeling a burst of energy from nowhere, Harry raced down the stairs towards a group of Pokémon playing tag.

"Hi, I'm Harry." He greeted a bunch of Pokémon, and thanks to some of his new knowledge, he knew what a few of them were.

_"Hi Harry! Would you like to play tag with us?" _A Bulbasaur asked

"I would love to play tag." Harry said grinning. A Rattata smirked.

_"Okay,"_ it touched Harry's leg. _"You're it!"_ And the group scattered. Harry blinked, realizing just what happened.

"I'll get you for that!" He yelled, grinning and took off. The game of tag continued for about fifteen minutes, and then the Pokémon and human collapsed into a pile, exhausted. "You guys can sure run fast."

_"Nah, you're just slow."_ A Ponyta teased.

"I wish I could run as fast as you guys do. That'd be wicked." Harry said, sitting up.

_"That can be arranged cub."_ An older voice said. Turning their heads, the group saw an Arcanine smirking. _"Climb on cub and we'll race with the wind."_

"Really? Sweet!" Harry said, climbing up the Fire-type's back. As soon as he was situated, Arcanine took off. Harry yelled in glee as the wind whipped through his wild hair, he had to hunch closer to the Pokémon's back to make sure he wouldn't get blown off.

After a few passes around the pasture, Arcanine slows to a stop near the evolved Pokémon area, each were telling stories about battles they've been in, who were also very close to the lab. Harry climbed down and rested near Arcanine and listened with fascination. He started asking questions about their fights, and when the Pokémon realized he could understand them, started explaining in earnest to Harry.

Delila and Oak had finished their talk and were watching Harry play with all the Pokémon.

"He seems to have a gift with them. They all seem happier." Oak noticed.

"Yeah, you should see him with Mr. Mime. I swear they can understand each other." Delila laughed, relaxing in her chair. They continued to watch Harry sit with the evolved Pokémon, and they noticed he seemed to…

"Is Harry talking with them?" Oak asked, confused but intrigued.

"Sure seems that way, though he hasn't told me if he can. But then again we did just meet a few days ago; he may not trust me that much yet. With how those horrid relatives of his…" Delila trailed off, the usually happy and kind woman having a glare on her face. She came too when Oak stood up and started walking. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go ask him about it. You never get answers just wondering things, Delila." Oak grinned and set off, the woman on his heels. As they neared Harry, they heard him say,

"Wow Machoke, what did you do next?"

"Harry, can we talk to you for a second?" Oak asked politely, observing the boy sitting with all the Pokémon. They had arranged themselves in a semi-circle to let the child see them all.

"Sir?" Harry tilted his head.

"Well, we couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be talking to the Pokémon, and understanding them. I wanted to ask you if you really could."

Harry's eyes widened in slight fear, the Pokémon sensing this started to prepare to fight for their new human friend. Oak and Delila watched them all warily and tried to appear non-threatening as possible. He ducked his head and responded quietly,

"It's an ability I have; I've always had it…" His eyes misted over, hearing the Dursleys calling him 'Freak' because of his magical abilities. "I'm sorry that I'm weird, please don't hate me…" The adults' eyes widened when they heard this from him and the fear in his voice. They both strode over and gathered Harry in their arms.

"Harry you are not a freak, in any way. Your relatives were wrong and horrible people." Delila murmured.

"Your gift is incredible Harry. Nothing to be ashamed of, tons of people wish they could talk to their Pokémon, heck even I do!" Oak said with a grin, causing Harry to laugh quietly.

"Thank you." The raven-haired boy said quietly, giving them both a smile. The Pokémon around them relaxed, seeing Harry smile again.

"Would you mind giving a couple demonstrations? I would love to see you in action, so to speak." Oak asked eagerly, like a little kid in a candy store. Harry laughed at his antics along with Delila.

"Sure, what would you like to know from them?" The Professor thought for a second.

"Well, are they all happy with how things are done around here? Do they want anything changed?" Harry turned to the Pokémon, who all began talking at once.

"Whoa calm down, one at a time please." He laughed. Each one went in turn; telling Harry something, though all Oak and Delila heard was their names. "Alright, the Fire-types would like spicy food; the Water-types would like more ponds as they're getting kinda crowded…" He explained what each one would like changed; Oak was taking notes with an excited look on his face.

"Fascinating, I'll make these changes at once. This is incredible…I'll have to research this…" He started mumbling to himself, a grin on his face the whole time.

"Well, we'll let you get to work Professor Oak." Delila said giggling. "See you later."

"Bye Professor!" Harry waved as he walked off with the woman. "That was a lot of fun." He commented on the way back."

"Yes it was, and very interesting. I understand why you didn't tell me you could talk to Pokémon before this and I don't blame you in the slightest. You can tell me anything when you're ready." Delila said kindly, reaching the fence surrounding the house. "I'll go start dinner; we were at Oak's longer than I thought. You can play outside for awhile, just be careful."

With a grin Harry took off, yelling, "Thanks!" He started walking around the edge of the town, nearing the forest where he first arrived in this new world. He had just entered the trees when he spotted something coming at him at a jog. It was a cat looking Pokémon with a round jewel in the middle of its forehead, about the size of a lioness.

"Hello there, what's your name?" Harry asked it. He grew worried at the slightly panicked look in its eyes.

_"My name is Persian,"_ She started. _"Please, I need help. My Trainer fell off the side of the cliff and hurt his leg, he can't get up." _Harry's 'saving-people-thing' showed up.

"Where is he, I'll do what I can."

_"This way cub."_


	3. Chapter 3

She led him about twenty yards away towards the cliff bordering the sea that's Pallet Town was near. On a jutting, about fifteen feet down was a man in his late thirties or so in a brown business type suit, with slicked brown hair and a pained look on his face. He was clutching his leg, which was twisted at an odd angle.

Thinking fast, Harry grabbed some vines from the trees, tying them together and to the tree. He then grabbed a longer piece and a couple pieces of flat wood. Strapping his materials to his back, Harry grabbed the vine and started to climb down the side of the cliff. "Stay here Persian."

_"I will, just help Gio."_

Slowly, Harry rappelled down the rocky face, eventually landing right beside the man. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Harry start to splint his leg. Harry glanced up to see dark brown eyes watching him, the pained glaze slowly leaving.

"Hello, I'm Harry. Your Persian came and got me." The man nodded.

"Thank you Harry, I am Giovanni. I was taking a nice walk when that rock gave way."

The emerald eyed boy finished fixing up Giovanni's leg as best he could, "That should work for now. We just need to get you…back…ah crud. We can't get back up." Harry said sheepishly. "Didn't think that far, there's no way I can get you back up the cliff, and you can't climb yourself." Giovanni moved to lean against the rock and smirked.

"Well. My little rescuer, what do you plan to do?" Harry chewed his lip thoughtfully, and then looked up.

"Persian! We can't get up ourselves, could you go and get some Pokémon to help us?"

_"Alright."_ She replied, running off.

"Well, who knows when she'll be back. So what do you do for a living Mr. Giovanni?" Harry asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I am the head of Team Rocket." Confused, Harry asked him to explain. "You don't know what Team Rocket is?" Giovanni asked surprised.

"Nope, I've never heard of it."

"Team Rocket is a multi-billion-dollar corporation. We deal with everything from clothing to food to technology and everything in between." Harry heard what Giovanni wasn't saying,

"Team Rocket also does criminal work too doesn't it?" He sat there with a smirk. Giovanni smirked back, liking the boy more.

"We do, because we need powerful Pokémon but don't have the time to train them to the capacity they need to be. We steal them from Trainers." The raven haired boy sat back with a thoughtful frown.

"Stealing happy and healthy Pokémon from Trainers that they love is kind of stupid; you'll have a hard time making them listen to you. On the other hand, if you stole unhappy and abused Pokémon from their Trainers, they'll be more likely to obey you and trust you because you saved them. You would have to help through the traumatic experience they went through, but that's a small price to pay." Harry finished with a nod. Giovanni sat shocked for several moments.

"You're absolutely right Harry, why haven't we seen that before?" He watched amused as the child blushed and muttered something incoherently. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Giovanni going through Harry's ideas, and Harry wondering what Delila was going to say when he got back.

_"I'm back!"_ Persian called. Harry looked up to see her with a couple Bulbasaur and a Machoke, all of whom he recognized from Oak's pasture.

"Can you throw down a vine and help us get up?" Harry called back.

_"Sure thing, hold on!"_ The Bulbasaur called, using vine-whip. Two sets of vines wrapped gently but tightly around the humans on the cliff, securing them in their grip. Carefully, Machoke started to pull them up. After a few close calls, they were up and over.

"Thanks you guys." Harry said gratefully. Persian went to her Trainer and was checking him to make sure he was alright.

_"You're welcome Harry, come visit us some time." _Machoke said, walking off with the Grass-types.

Harry turned around to check on the Rocket Boss, who was leaning against a tree watching with interest. Persian came over and started licking Harry's face.

"Persian! Come on stop that, it tickles!"

_"Thank you, cub, for helping my Trainer." _She said, amused, and continued to lick him.

"You're welcome Persian, now please stop licking me. We need to take Giovanni to the hospital." The two moved to either side of the man and let him use them as makeshift crutches. Slowly, they made their way to get Giovanni treatment.

"Thank you Harry, that was brave of you to come and help me. Where did you learn to bandage like that? Not many teens would even know what a splint was."

Harry replied in a monotone voice, "My relatives weren't the nicest of people…let's leave it at that. Though I'll never have to see them again thankfully. I now live with a much nicer person, Ms. Ketchum." His tone lightened at the end. The small group made it to the hospital. "Well Mr. Giovanni, this is where I leave you. Maybe we'll see each other again." Harry said, giving a hug to Persian before he left. While Giovanni was being checked over by the doctors, he mused to Persian,

"What an unusual youth, Persian. Kind, brave, thoughtful, and an intuitive mind you don't normally see. I also believe he's hiding more than he lets on. We'll have to make sure we see him again."

"Sian." Persian agreed, purring at the thought of her new 'cub'.

Even running, it took Harry ten minutes to make it to the house, which had Delila standing outside worriedly.

"Harry! Where have you been, I've been calling you for twenty minutes." She reached out and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ketchum. I ran into this Persian whose Trainer had broken his leg. I helped him get to the hospital and it just took a while." Harry explained, though his voice was muffled.

"Alright, but please be careful. Now come inside, dinner is ready and Mr. Mime really wants to eat." She said with a smile.

_A week later_

"Harry, Professor Oak just called, he wants you at the lab for something." Delila called. "Go ahead and head on over, I still have some cleaning to do."

"Alright." Harry called, putting on his shoes and heading out. Enjoying the bright day, he walked leisurely to the Pokémon lab, greeting the occasional person he passed. Outside the lab though was something different, a long black limo with flags on it with red 'R's. Shrugging, he walked up the steps and headed inside and was surprised when he was attacked by something with cream-colored fur.

_"Cub! How are you?"_

"Just fine Persian." Harry grinned and coughed out. "Would love the use of my lungs though…"

_"Whoops."_ Persian said, getting off. She just smirked at Harry before grooming his hair.

"Come on Persian, I just had it the way I liked it!" The boy said, playfully swatting at the Pokémon. "Do you know where Professor Oak is?"

_"Yes, he's with Gio, come on. The Professors was excited about something."_ Persian said, leading the way. Heading towards Oak's office, she walked right in, heading towards her Trainer. The two looked up as Harry walked in, both giving him a smile (though to Harry Giovanni's looked unused, but it still had warmth in it)

"Hello Professor Oak, Mr. Giovanni. Ms. Ketchum said you wanted to see me about something Prof.?"

"Yes Harry." Oak said. "Delila and I got to talking and we believe it would do you a lot of good to see the world, and we figured being a Pokémon Trainer would be a great way to go. We want you to go on your own Pokémon Journey in the same region her son Ash is in, Omnera." Oak said smiling. "So what do you say?" Harry was grinning ear to ear.

"That'd be fantastic sir, and I would love to!"

"Wonderful! Now the reason why you came here today, follow me. Giovanni, you're more than welcome to come too." Oak walked out and down a hallway, the two humans and Pokémon following behind.

"Why are you here Mr. Giovanni?" Harry asked, glancing up. "And how are you healed so fast? I thought your leg was broken."

"It was just a bad sprain, a few days off and it's as good as new. Persian and I came here today to find and thank you for what you did, but since you're going to start your own journey, we'll take you shopping for it. And I won't hear another word otherwise." He finished with a smirk.

Harry sighed, knowing it would be useless to argue with the man. He had the air of someone who believed that if you're stubborn enough you could get a mountain to move.

"Whatever you say." Giovanni smirked wider in victory. Harry just rolled his eyes. Oak finally came to a stop in the back of the lab where he would give the starters to new Trainers.

"Normally, I would give you a Charmander, Squirtle, or a Bulbasaur, but we don't have any. But I believe I can do you one better." He handed Harry a Pokeball. "Open it."

Doing so, Harry was a little shocked at what came out. A small, brown Pokémon with dark brown, almost black eyes started up at him, sort of reminding Harry of a fox. Giving a coo of delight, the Pokémon jumped into Harry's arms and started to cuddle.

"That, Harry, is called an Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon." Oak started to explain. "It evolves through the use of stones. Very loyal to their Trainer and also quite cute."

"Hello there handsome." Harry greeted, tickling his new Pokémon. "I'm Harry, your new Trainer."

_"Hi Harry!"_ Eevee said happily, escaping Harry's fingers and climbing up onto his shoulder.

"You'll also need this, a Pokedex. It has information on every Pokémon in Kanto; you just need to point it and it'll open and tell you what you should know about it." Oak said, handing Harry a small red, rectangle object made of metal. Harry slid it into his pocket. "Now you go on ahead and go with Giovanni to Viridian. I'll tell Delila where you went to."

"Thanks Professor Oak!" Harry said, hugging the man gratefully.

"Come on Harry," Giovanni said chuckling. "We got some shopping to do." He led the excited boy to the limo. "Head to the Viridian store." He said to the driver as he got in, Persian right behind him. Harry climbed in last, talking to Eevee and paying no attention to what was happening around him.

As they drove out of Pallet, the Rocket Head finally noticed that Harry seemed to be talking with his Eevee, and he seemed to be talking back.

"Harry, can you understand Pokémon?" Harry suddenly turned very shy.

"Yes sir, it's an ability I've always had. Professor Oak, Ms. Ketchum and now you are the only humans who know I can."

"Incredible, you must be psychic in some way to be able to do this." Seeing that the topic was a little difficult for Harry, he turned it to the cities in Kanto and the Gym Leaders. Harry listened with rapt attention and the trip passed quickly.

"We're here Harry." Giovanni said, dragging Harry's attention from Persian and Eevee. The three had been in a deep discussion about battling from he could gather. "Let's head inside." Getting out of the limo with Eevee on his shoulder, both gawked at the size of the store.

"This place is huge!" He breathed, his Pokémon agreeing with him. Both Persian and Giovanni chuckled.

"It's actually a bit small, but the right size for Viridian. You go with Persian and pick out clothes and anything she suggests. I'll start getting your supplies to take care of yourself and your Pokémon. Persian," He looked at the feline Pokémon, "Money is of no concern, spoil your cub." He chuckled and walked off.

_"Let's go Harry, I'm gonna have fun with this."_ Persian purred out, walking down isles. She had Harry set a double basket over her back, perfect for many purchases. They went down the clothing isle and Persian began muttering, pacing back and forth. _"Jeans and sneakers definitely as you'll be travelling quite a bit. You'll also need short-sleeve shirts, maybe one or two long sleeve…your colors are more jewel tone, we must get a couple shirts to match your beautiful eyes…"_ Persian trailed off, having Harry pull one clothing article after another and putting it into the basket.

"Persian, I think we got enough." Harry said chuckling. The two baskets were nearly filled. "Remember I also need to carry this stuff too."

_"That reminds me, we need to get you a back pack."_ Persian said, walking down another isle, this one filled with back packs for every type of occasion. The two paced up and down a few times, neither one finding what they wanted.

_"What about that one, behind the yellow back pack?"_ Eevee suggested perched on top of Harry's head. The human moved aside the banana yellow eye sore to see what the Pokémon was talking about. He and Persian gasped at the beautiful artwork on the black back pack. Silver stitching etched out the Legendary Pokémon, tribal style. Pulling it down and opening it up, the three were impressed by the size of it. It looked like it could hold all of Harry's clothes and then some, plus it had pockets all over the place, perfect for the supplies Giovanni was getting. Putting it on, Harry was pleased that it wasn't bulky or towered over his head.

"This is perfect Eevee. We'll get it." Harry complimented, heading off to find the Rocket Head.

_"Indeed little one, you have quite the eye." _Persian said beside him. The Evolution Pokémon just blushed and hid in Harry's hair.

"There you are; did you find everything you wanted?" Giovanni asked walking around a corner, the basket on his arms piled with different purchases.

"Yes we did, and Eevee picked out this awesome back pack!" Harry said enthusiastically, showing him. The brunette admired their find.

"Very impressive, this will suit you perfectly. Let's get this all paid for and packed into the limo. Then I thought we might enjoy a short walk before heading to Pallet."

The cashier was in shock at the amount of stuff they got, but rang them out quickly. Putting everything in the trunk of the limo, Giovanni told the driver where he could pick them up in half an hour and he walked off with the teen and Pokémon.

"Viridian is really nice, Mr. Giovanni." Harry said, admiring the scenery.

"That is it Harry, and you really don't need to add the 'Mr.'." Giovanni chuckled. "'Giovanni' works just fine."

Harry blushed, "Yes sir, it just feels weird addressing you without it…is there a Gym here? I don't remember you saying if there was or not."

Giovanni nodded, "There is, usually Trainers come here last for their eighth badge. I am the Gym Leader here, the strongest one in Kanto."

The raven's eyes grew wide, "Wow…" Not knowing what to say, he just left it at that, blushing when Giovanni smirked at his speechlessness. The group walked in silence for a little while, Eevee riding Persian, when something nudged at the edge of Harry's mind. "Huh?" He stopped and looked around. They were on the edge of the forest; on the other side of it would be Cerulean.

"What's wrong Harry?" Giovanni asked concerned. Harry frowned, heading into the trees.

"I'm not sure…if feels like something's calling me…" Harry with the other three following him headed a little ways into the forest, eventually stopping at a large tree with a huge gap in its roots. The boy walked nearer to peek into the whole, and gasped at what he saw. A large white, cream, dark and ice blue Egg was sitting in a half made nest. The rest of the area looked disused. Gently, Harry gathered the egg and hugged it, warming it with his body heat.

"I've never seen an Egg that color before." Giovanni observed, and then looked into the hole. "The nest looks like it hasn't been used in ages, most likely abandoned at some point. I would advise you to take the Egg Harry, otherwise it could die."

"I will, I'll take it to Professor Oak tomorrow for him to look at." Harry said, still holding the Egg. Eevee hopped onto his shoulder and started sniffing the Egg, Persian doing so as well.

_"The Pokémon inside still lives and is healthy from what I can sense." _She told Harry, who nodded gratefully.

The trip back to Pallet was spent by Giovanni explaining more about the Gym Leaders and their styles of battling, even his own, though Harry and Eevee were both nearly asleep when they arrived at Delilah's. Giovanni made sure they got inside, and then drove back to Viridian.


	4. Chapter 4

_The Next Day_

After finishing his chores, Harry gathered the Egg from the mountain of blankets he had kept it in and headed off to the PokeLab, hugging the Egg close.

"Professor Oak! Are you here?" He called when he arrived.

"Harry! What brings you here today?" Oak's voice echoed from somewhere. The old man popped up from behind a desk, a sheepishly look on his face. "Can't find my pen anywhere…what do you need?" Harry showed him the Egg and Oak's eyes grew wide with interest.

"This, I found it after Giovanni and I finished shopping yesterday. We were taking a walk and I felt something…calling me I guess you could call it. I followed it to a tree and under its roots was the Egg, abandoned by what Giovanni could tell. I was hoping you could look it over." Oak took the Egg carefully.

"Of course I will. By the looks of it the baby inside appears just fine, but we'll do some tests just to make sure, as well as find out what Pokémon this is. In all my years I've never seen coloring like this on an Egg." Harry chuckled at the excited Pokémon Expert.

"Alright, well I'll be going then. Have fun Professor!" He called, walking out and back to Delilah's. Parked outside the house he recognized Giovanni's limo. Walking in, he saw the Rocket Head with Persian, talking to Delila, and three new comers. A woman with long magenta red hair sticking out and curving at the bottom, a man with shoulder-length purple hair, and a small cat-like Pokémon, its fur the same color as Persian, with a large gold oval on its head. The man and woman wore the same type of uniform with a red R on their chests, the Pokémon stood on its hind legs.

"Uh...hi, I'm Harry." He said awkwardly, staring at them all. The woman moved first, grabbing Harry in a tight hug.

"Cute! You are just plain adorable! And your eyes are to die for!" She continued to gush like this for a few seconds before Harry managed to get away, hiding behind the purple-haired man.

"Is she always like this?" He asked eyes wide.

"This is new for us too kid. Name's James, you just met Jesse." James said with a grin, ruffling Harry's hair, who tried to flatten the mess unsuccessfully.

"I'm Meowth!" The Pokémon introduced himself, speaking like a human. Harry didn't even bat an eye and shook Meowth's paw with a smile, causing him to grin.

Harry sat down on the end of the table, one hand scratching Persian behind the ear, the other one scratching Meowth's (who had jumped into his lap).

"Why are you here Giovanni?" He asked curiously.

Giovanni smiled (_'Getting easier to do'_ Harry noticed), "Delila is an old friend of mine, and I came to see her because we haven't spoken in ages. My employees showed up with an interesting find. A strangely marked Pokeball they couldn't open. They heard I was in the area and came to show me. We were about to do so when you showed up, but now you can see as well."

Jesse dug into her pocket and pulled out the mentioned Pokeball. It had the same coloring as a regular Pokeball, but it was reversed. "We found it in the mountains in this beaten shack, just sitting there on the floor. We tried everything to open it but nothing worked."

"Interesting," Giovanni murmured, taking the ball. He tried pressing the button, but it was solidly stuck. He passed it to Delila after a minute for her to try, though she didn't have much better luck, and passed it back.

"Strange Pokeball…Harry would you like to try?"

"Sure, nothing to lose." Harry shrugged, taking the Pokeball from the man. The second it touched his hands, the stripes glowed with an eerie light. "Okay…that's weird."

"That may be a sign Harry can open the Pokeball." James noted.

Jesse nodded, "Try to open it kid."

"Not in here, we have no clue what Pokémon it is, if it's too big, it could damage the house." Delila said with a frown.

"Quite right Del, let's head out back." Giovanni said, getting up and walking out the back door, the others following him. "Alright Harry."

Harry pushed the button and threw the Pokeball. Out came a mammal-like Pokémon. Its white body is covered in dark blue fur, with a ruff around its neck and chest, and a tuft on the top of its head adorned with a single white oval. It had a cat-like face, a scythe-like tail and a sickle-shaped growth on the side of its head. Its broad, circular feet are equipped with three claws each, and spikes protrude from the heels of its hind legs and the elbows of its anterior legs. Its head resembled a Yin-Yang. It stared at them all with piercing red eyes.

_"Who has awakened me from my slumber, I who have lived since the creation of Pokémon?_" She demanded in a powerful but soft voice.

"I did." Harry said as brave as he could. He brought out his new Pokedex while the Pokémon studied him**. Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol live in steep mountainous regions, and rarely venture down into areas inhabited by humans, but should an Absol be seen by humans, it is said that catastrophe is soon to follow. This Pokémon will also care for baby Pokémon and human children as their own.** When the Pokedex finished, Harry absently thinking that the Absol in front of him had reverse coloring than the one in the picture, Absol's eyes started to glow with an eerie light. Harry felt some sort of presence in his mind, not hurting but felt more like it was looking at something. He finally felt the presence vanish as quickly as it came.

_"Your heart is true; your soul is filled with kindness. I accept you as my Trainer._" Absol said. Grinning Harry returned her and turned to the others.

"Well, that was interesting. I'm famished, anyone up for dinner?" Giovanni, Persian, Delila and Harry all laughed at the response from Jesse, James, and Meowth, who all scrambled back into the house excitedly.

A week later found the Harry preparing for a farewell party thrown for him by the Rockets and Delila. He had just finished packing up his back pack with all the clothes Giovanni bought for him, as well as all the Potions, Status Healers, extra Pokeballs, and whatever else the man felt he needed. Harry was also pleased to see his new clothes fit him perfectly. He was wearing a short sleeve black shirt with an emerald green stripe, blue jeans, and sneakers, perfect for traveling. His Pokeballs were strapped to a dull gold belt Persian picked out for him when he wasn't looking.

Finally ready, Harry took one last look around his room, grabbed the backpack and headed downstairs. Placing his burden by the front door, he walked to the living room where everyone was waiting for him, all already chowing down under a sign that said 'Good Luck!' besides a table piled with going away gifts for him

"Hey kiddo!" Meowth said, waving a paw. The others all said their own greetings, pulling him into a hug.

"I'll miss you Harry, hopefully you'll see Ash sometime on your journey, I've told him all about you and he's eager to meet you." Delila said, trying not to cry.

James clapped him on the back, sending forward slightly, "He'll do great. Jesse, Meowth and I will be keeping an eye out for you; maybe we'll get to see one of your battles."

Harry grinned, "I'm sure we'll bump into each other, even if you guys only want me to make you a meal." The three Rockets blushed. Ever since having a meal made by Harry, they had come over every day for another one. Delila didn't mind, she thought it was cute. Harry just wasn't used to having so many people love his cooking, but was growing used to it.

"Here Harry." Jesse said, holding out a small gift. "We three pitched in to get it for you." Inside was a slim bracelet made of silver and green 'R's'; it was the type of bracelet that charms could be added to as well. Harry snapped it on, admiring it in the light.

"Thanks!" He hugged her tightly, and then the other two. Persian pushed a gift towards him.

_"This is from me and Gio cub."_ This one was a necklace with a fang. Persian opened her mouth, near the back a tooth was missing. _"So you'll always have me with you little one."_ She purred, nuzzling him.

Mr. Mime and Delila both made him a book of all their recipes, easy to make on the road and able to feed a lot of people.

"It was a lot of fun doing this without being able to talk to each other." The woman grinned, hugging her Pokémon.

Professor Oak stepped up next, holding the largest present.

"All of us at the lab felt that this would do best with you, Harry." Curious, Harry opened it, revealing the Egg he had found. He looked up at the old man, surprised. "We think it'll be a Fire-type Pokémon, with how the Egg is warmer to the touch than any other Egg would be, and we also think it'll hatch soon." Persian came back with Harry's back pack and together they arranged Harry's clothes into a safe 'nest' for the Egg. He also handed Harry a Pokeball to be used on the baby when it hatches.

"Thanks Professor I'll let you know as soon as I can what comes out." Harry promised.

Giovanni stood up, a small more natural smile on his face as he looked at the boy.

"My gift is a little different. I'm going to put into use your suggestions for Team Rocket, effective immediately. You had some really good ideas and I know they'll help us in the long run." He turned to the trio, "You three are to help him in any way you can when he needs it. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" The three chorused. The serious mood was changed back to the party mood, everyone having a great time with all the food, laughing and just enjoying them. They quieted down when Oak's cell phone rang.

"Yes? Ah…alright, and thanks for doing this." He ended the call and turned to Harry. "Your ride's here. An old friend is going to take you to Flamma Coast on the edge of Flamma Forest. On the other side are Ignis Town and the first of the Gyms."

"I guess I better get down to the docks then." Harry said with a grin. The group made their way down to the docks, where a speed boat was waiting.

An elderly man with a happy grin waved at them, looking every inch a Captain. "Ahoy! I'm here to take young Harry to Omnera region. Name's Captain Teal."

"Hey Teal!" Oak greeted his old friend with a hug, and then gestured to Harry, who was hugging everyone goodbye. "That's him there, could you come back and tell us you dropped him off? All of us will be worried sick unless we know for sure."

Harry joined up with them as Teal answered, "Of course Samuel. Hello lad, let's get you aboard. We're shoving off."

The black-haired youth jumped onto the boat as Teal started backing out, waving good bye to everyone as the dock got smaller and smaller, eventually falling out of sight all together. He turned to Teal.

"When will we get there?"

"Omnera's closer than you think lad, we'll get there before noon I assure you."

True to his word, the mountainous region soon came into sight.

"What's Omnera shaped like anyway? And where's the League?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well the League is in the center of those mountains lad." Teal began, pointing at the towering mountains. "The cities and towns are shaped in a donut like circle, with every other city having an access through the mountains to the League. The way only opens when you have all eight badges. Omnera itself has many climates, some of which is why the cities are named as such. Take Ignis for example, it has very bright sunshine and is warm here, with hardly ever any snow, even in the middle of winter. That's why it's called 'Fire'. Now, Glacies on the other hand is nick named the Frozen City, because of all the ice and snow. The funny thing is, is that the two towns are right next to each other." The old man laughed. Teal pulled the boat closer to the small dock while Harry gathered his things.

"Each Gym Leader's Pokémon is based on a specific type. So Ignis' Leader's Pokémon is Fire-type, while Glacies has Ice. Good to know for preparation. I suggest battling the Glacies Gym last, heard the Leader was the strongest of the lot."

"Thanks Captain Teal." Harry said, hopping onto the dock. He watched as Teal nodded and began to pull away. A few minutes later he was a speck on the ocean. The raven turned his back to the ocean towards the looming green forest in front of him. Exploring the edge for a few minutes, he found a dirt path, slightly overgrown. Feeling that this was the best option to get to Ignis, Harry set off along the path. For half an hour he walked, enjoying the beauty around him, listening to the various Pokémon in the forest going about their lives, though he didn't stop to talk to any of them.

His peace was broken when a girl about his age burst through the underbrush, panting slightly. As she regained her breath he took in her appearance; she had midnight black hair (darker than his own, surprisingly), with light blue-purple highlights flowing in gentle waves to her waist. Going around her head she had a skinny silver circlet almost like a headband. She wore a lavender colored, sleeveless shirt that hugged her neck, black jeans that flared slightly with a silver belt that had her pokeballs and slender black shoes. On her back was a silver back-pack, much like his own, with black tribal dragons.

"Hey, are you alright?" Harry asked concerned, helping her stand up straight. He saw her eyes were a light lavender.

"Yeah…just had a run in with…" She started to explain, still panting but stopped when she heard a noise behind her. Turning around, the two saw multiple Beedrill, Scizor and Scyther, all looked angry as hell.

"Oh…did you mean them?" Harry asked, weakly but calmly.

"….Yeah…." She replied, gulping. "Shall we run for our lives?"

"Let's." And the two took off like a bat out of hell, angry Bug-Types chasing them through the forest. Weaving in and out of the trees, the duo managed to finally lose the Pokémon. They collapsed to the ground, panting harshly.

"Do I even want to know what you did to them?" Harry asked, eyebrow raised as he sat and looked at her.

"I think I invaded their territory accidently." She replied, lying on her back. She looked over at him. "I'm Ireth, what's your name?"

"Harry." He shook her hand with a grin. "Where you headed? I'm off to Ignis to challenge the Gym Leader."

Ireth grinned back, "Same here, I wanna see the world and be the best Trainer I can be, as well as try to get a Dragon Mastery, I love Dragon-type Pokémon but there are also other ones I love as well." She stood up and helped Harry back to his feet.

"Same here Ireth, why don't we travel together? It'd be nice to travel with a friend." Harry said and he started down the path, Ireth at his side.

"Sounds like a plan Harry. Have you gotten your first Pokémon yet?" She asked curiously.

Harry nodded, "Yeah. I actually got two, well, three if you count the Egg in my pack."

She looked shocked, "Wow, already? What are they? I only have one." She reached behind her and pulled out a Pokeball. "Come on out Ralts." Out of the Pokeball came a Pokémon with a white body with its legs giving it the appearance it was wearing a dress. It had a green helmet looking thing with a red horn on the front and back, it fully covered its eyes. "Isn't she just the cutest thing? I found her just after I started this journey. Walked right up to me and let me catch her."

"Ralts!"~_"Hi!"_

Harry smiled at the tiny Pokémon, holding out his Pokedex. **Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. Ralts is the pre-evolved form of Kirlia. It can use the horns on its head to read human emotions. Ralts rarely shows itself to humans, but may occasionally approach when it senses positive or happy feelings. **Harry kneeled down and shook the little Pokémon's hand.

"Very cool Pokémon. Hello Ralts, I'm Harry."

_"Hello Harry. You're nice! Just like Miss Ireth."_ Harry chuckled

"I'm glad you think I'm nice Ralts." He stood up and saw Ireth with a surprised look on her face. Remembering just what he did, Harry chuckled weakly, "Heh heh….yeah…I can understand Pokémon…special ability."

Sensing that she was making Harry nervous, Ireth grinned, "That is freaking awesome! Can you understand all Pokémon?"

"Yeah, so far all the Pokémon I've met I can understand." Harry answered, feeling more at ease. "Oh and here are my Pokémon." He threw Eevee's and Absol's Pokeballs.

The midnight-haired girl's eyes grew wide seeing the Pokémon, "Sweet! I love Absol; they're one of my favorite Pokémon, so mysterious and I love her coloring. And Eevee are just adorable!"

_"I like this human. What is her name?"_ Absol asked, preening at the praise the girl gave. Eevee jumped into her arms and now was being cuddled.

"Her name is Ireth. She'll be travelling with us." Harry answered, laughing at the Normal-Type, who was now purring with contentment.

"You have incredible Pokémon Harry. You said you had an Egg, do you know what will hatch?" Ireth asked, handing Eevee back to Harry. The two returned their Pokémon and started walking again.

"No, I found it in the forest outside of Viridian, abandoned under some tree roots. Professor Oak from Pallet Town examined the Egg, but couldn't figure out what will come out, though he thinks it'll be a Fire-type."


	5. Chapter 5

The duo continued to talk about anything and everything as they walked through the forest, eventually leaving the trees and into the bright sunshine. Up ahead they saw Ignis Town, slightly larger than Viridian Harry guessed.

"Wow, first time I've been here. I'm gonna go explore and pick up some supplies for us." Ireth said.

Harry nodded, "I'm gonna take my Pokémon to the Pokémon Center, I haven't done that yet. Let's meet up at the park." He pointed to the one about thirty feet in front of them. "We'll head to the Gym together."

"Alright." And she walked off towards the shopping center while Harry went to the Pokémon Center.

"Hello, I'm Nurse Joy. How can I help you?" A pretty lady with pink hair done in loops and wearing a nurse's outfit asked, smiling. At her side was a pink, egg-shaped Pokémon, with hair-like outgrowths on the side of its head, stubby limbs, and a short tail. On its belly was a pouch holding an egg. "This is my Pokémon partner, Chansey."

Harry smiled at them both and then handed Joy his Pokeballs and carefully brought out the Egg.

"My name's Harry. I wanted to have my Pokémon checked as they haven't had one yet, plus I wanted to see how the Egg is doing." Joy smiled and took them all, disappearing into the back room. Harry turned to Chansey, "Do you mind? I've never met a Chansey before." Chansey shook her head, smiling at the youth who brought out his Pokedex: **Chansey, the Egg Pokémon. It is said to deliver happiness. Being compassionate, it shares its eggs with injured people. Chansey adore children, both human and Pokémon.** "Nice to meet you Chansey."

_"Hello Harry. Would you like something to drink while you wait for Joy to come back?"_ Chansey asked, gesturing to the cafeteria, figuring that Harry wouldn't understand her.

"I'd love something to drink Chansey." Harry smiled at the Pokémon, who was pleasantly surprised and helped Harry find something.

The two chatted while Harry waited, about his abilities and the Pokémon world in general. It was interesting to hear about it from a Pokémon's view. Nurse Joy finally came back, holding the two Pokeballs and the Egg.

She listened to the two for a few minutes and then asked, "Can you understand her Harry?" The emerald eyed youth blushed at being caught.

"Yes Nurse Joy. It's just a gift I have, and so far I've been able to understand every Pokémon I've met."

Nurse Joy smiled gently, "There's no reason to be shy about it, Harry, that's an amazing ability. Do you mind if I tell the other Joys around Omnera about you? I believe it would be a good idea, plus if there's any problem Pokémon you could maybe help with it." Harry nodded eagerly. "Your Pokémon and Egg are doing just fine by the way."

"Go right ahead and tell them." He clipped back on the Pokeballs and carefully placed the Egg in his backpack. "I need to go and meet up with my friend; we're going to battle the Gym Leader here."

"Just follow this road and you'll run into the Gym, can't miss it." Joy said as Harry walked out the door, waving good-bye. "What a nice young man…well I've got a few calls to make…"

"Harry! There you are, is everything alright?" Ireth asked, standing up as the youth approached. The raven haired teen nodded.

"Yeah, Nurse Joy caught me talking to her Chansey; she thought it was cool and asked if she could tell the other Joys about me, just in case they need my help with a Pokémon. I said it was alright."

"That was nice, now any idea where the Gym is? I forgot to ask the clerk when I was shopping."

"Joy said to follow this road, we can't miss it." Harry answered, already walking down the road. Ireth hurried up to catch him. "So any idea on how to battle?"

Ireth shrugged, "I say go with our instincts, they can't lead us wrong." Harry laughed at her joke while she smirked.

The good mood was ruined when they got to the Gym. Outside its doors were two groups standing off. In front of the two was a man in his twenties with red hair wearing black clothes with flame designs, glaring the group opposite him. Beside him was a red lizard looking Pokémon, its tail having a flame burning on the end. Harry flipped out his Pokedex: **Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon. It has razor sharp claws and its tail is exceptionally strong.**

The group opposite gave Harry and Ireth chills. A group of three people wearing nearly the same type of uniform, a dull grey with yellow and red lines that looked like they were crackling stared down the red headed man. The thug in the middle had the only difference as his uniform had some sort of official decoration on the shoulder. Beside them were two kinds of Pokémon. The first had a human-like stance that has traits of a duck and a mythical salamander. It had a red body with a yellow flame design on it, and a yellow tail that also had a flame on it. It also had yellow thighs, black legs and red feet with two toes each. Its arms are covered in red, rigid scales and it has red hands with five fingers. It has a row of red spikes running down its back. Finally it had two lumps on its forehead with a flame on top of each one, and a yellow beak. Again, Harry brought out the Pokedex: **Magmar, the Spitfire Pokémon. Its body is like a furnace, making Magmar a living inferno. It has been discovered only near active volcanoes.**

The other Pokémon reminded Harry of a like a young lion. It had a black mane around its face, which was a bluish color and bright yellow eyes. It also has two yellow rings around each of its front legs which were the same blue as its face. Its paws were also a blue color, but its hind legs were black which followed to its tale that was ended with a yellow star like tuff of fur. For a third time, Harry checked the Pokedex: **Luxio, the Spark Pokémon. By touching friends with its front paws, Luxio is able to communicate through the sparks it emits. **The two crept closer behind the uniformed guys, trying to hear what they were saying.

"Why won't you just give in Pyro? You're outnumbered and outmatched." The one with the fancy decoration said.

Pyro just stood straighter, glaring even harder at the bad guys but also watching Harry and Ireth. "You want me to give you every Pokémon in Ignis for your own purposes as well as give you all control over the city? Not in your wildest dreams."

The thug from before sneered, "Have it your way. With you out of the way, this town will be easy pickings for us!"

"Harry, we have to do something. Pyro is outmatched, there's no way he can take on all of them by himself." Ireth whispered, bringing out Ralts' Pokeball.

"I'm way ahead of you." Harry smirked, holding out Eevee's and Absol's balls. "You help Pyro, you can team up."

"Right, let's go. Go Ralts!" Ireth shouted, startling the thugs and their Pokémon. Pyro smirked when he saw the two moving to help him.

"Ralts!" The Emotion Pokémon called.

"Come on out Absol and Eevee!" While the Evolution Pokémon danced around happily, playing with Ralts, Absol turned a fierce death glare on his Trainers opponents, all of whom took a step back from Disaster Pokémon.

"Who the heck are you brats? Get out of our way!" The leader yelled.

"You were going to battle him while he only had one Pokémon out. If there's one thing I can't stand in this world, it's bullies!" Harry spat, eyes blazing like emerald fire.

"Have it your way, I'll take you on brat. You two, take on the Leader and the other brat." He ordered.

"Yes sir!" The two chorused, taking one Magmar and Luxio each, making the battle for Ireth and Pyro two on four while Harry's was two on two.

"We got this Harry, don't worry. Ralts use Confusion!" The Psychic-type glowed slightly and the two Magmar were lifted into the air and thrown into each other, dazing them. Pyro was already busy with the two Luxio.

"Attention on me brat. Luxio use Thunderbolt! Magmar use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge both of you and use Quick Attack!" Harry ordered. The attacks collided with the ground when Absol and Eevee vanished, appearing as only blurs on the field. As one, they rammed into their opponents, knocking the wind out of them.

"Eevee, Tail-whip while they're both down, Absol use Razor Wind." Eevee started wagging his tail, causing a red light to faintly appear on Magmar and Luxio, lowering their defense. Absol's blade started to glow.

"No! Get up you two; don't let these weaklings beat you!" The thug roared.

"Too late." Harry smirked just as Absol released her attack. Blades of wind hit dead on the two prone Pokémon, knocking them out. Snarling, the thug returned them, backing up as he did so. Looking at the other battle showed Ireth and Pyro having won their own battles, the other two thugs backing up with their leader.

"This isn't over brats." He snarled out and took off surprisingly fast, the other two on his heels.

"Well, that takes care of that. Not bad for our first battles huh guys?" Harry grinned at his Pokémon. Eevee was doing some sort of victory dance with Ralts, while Absol just preened.

"That was your first battle?" Pyro asked impressed. "Very nice kids. You saved my behind, and those of every Pokémon and citizen in Ignis." The teens blushed.

"We just did the right thing, and you were outnumbered," Ireth said.

The red-head laughed. "Maybe so, still thank you. I'm assuming you came here for a battle?" He asked, walking inside.

"Yes sir. We decided to travel and get our badges together." Harry answered, following him along with Ireth.

"Let's give the Pokémon a little break, they've earned it." He led them through the Gym, which had a large dirt field, to a kitchen in the back. Telling them to have a seat, he brought out water for everyone. "Here you go. So why are you kids going on this journey? To be Pokémon Masters?"

"I just wanna be strong for my Pokémon and see what the world has to offer." Harry said grinning.

"Same here, though I do want to get a Dragon Mastery." Ireth said, taking a drink. Pyro smiled.

"Good answer kids." He finished his glass; the two humans copied him while the Pokémon had already finished theirs. "Well, let's get started, first let me track down my referee, ran off somewhere…" He mock-grumbled, causing the other two to laugh.

Ten minutes later Pyro at one end of the Gym, Ireth and Harry at the other.

The referee began, "This will be a two on two battle. The side that has their Pokémon knocked out first loses."

"Come on out Ralts!"

"Let's go Eevee!"

The two Pokémon appeared, battle stance ready. That was until Eevee tipped over and knocked over Ralts. The two just started laughing, causing everyone to laugh with them.

"Come on guys, we got a battle to win." Harry said with a grin. The two quickly untangled themselves.

"You're already close with your Pokémon, very good. Come on out Charmeleon and Magcargo!" The red lizard Pokémon waved when he saw Ralts and Eevee, before getting serious again. The other Pokémon reminded Harry of a large snail made out of magma, with a grey shell with cracks that occasionally spit little spouts of fire. Curious, Harry brought out the Pokedex: **Magcargo, the Lava Pokémon. Magcargo lives primarily in volcanic regions and occasionally emits the lava from its back that circles its body. **Pyro grinned.

"Just because you guys saved us, doesn't mean we'll go easy on you."

"Good, we wouldn't want to have an easy battle now would we?" Ireth shot back, smirking.

"Begin!" The referee called.

"Charmeleon use Flamethrower, Magcargo use Rock Throw!" A huge stream of fire erupted from Charmeleon's mouth, while Magcargo slammed the earth, sending huge rocks at Ralts.

"Eevee dodge and use Bite!" Eevee jumped out of the Fire attacks wave and raced off towards Charmeleon, landing a nice attack on the Fire-type and then jumping away.

"Ralts Teleport and use Double Team!" Just before the rocks hit, Ralts vanished, and then reappeared and then split up into about twenty Ralts. "Now use Confusion!" All the Ralts glowed, lifting Magcargo high into the air before slamming it back into the ground, knocking him out.

"Magcargo return! It's up to you Charmeleon, prepare to use Fire Fang!" Flames coated Charmeleon's fangs, giving him a very scary look. Both Eevee and Ralts took a step back.

"Don't worry you two, you'll be just fine. I know you will." Ireth said soothingly.

"You two can take Charmeleon on together, we're right behind you." Harry added. The two Pokémon shared a glance and nodded. Ralts stood still while Eevee began to do a strange cheer, glowing white and making Ralts glow as well.

"Eevee's using Helping Hand to power up Ralts." Harry realized. "But what's Ralts doing?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her use this attack yet. Ralts, attack when you're ready!"

"Ralts!" "_Right!"_ She nodded, glowing even more.

"Well, I'm not gonna wait around to see what's going to happen. Charmeleon, attack now!" Pyro ordered. Charmeleon nodded and charged forward, but couldn't get there in time. Leaves appeared around Ralts, glowing an ethereal green and red.

"Magical Leaf!" Ireth realized. "That attack is called Magical Leaf. While it doesn't do a lot of damage to Fire-types, it always hits. And combined with Eevee's Helping Hand…"

"We got this battle in the bag." Harry grinned.

"Ralts, Teleport and use Magical Leaf!" Ralts vanished before Chameleon could land a hit, causing it to slam into the ground. While its back was turned, Ralts reappeared and fired its attack, slamming Charmeleon forward, knocking him out.

"The winners are Harry and Ireth!" The referee announced as Pyro called back his Pokémon, smiling at the two teens. They had scooped up their Pokémon and were twirling them around happily.

"Hey you two, come here!" Pyro called. When they came over, their Pokémon on their shoulders, he began again, "With teamwork and belief in your Pokémon you beat me. I'm proud to give you the Fire Badge, along with a case to keep it in along with the other Badges I know you'll win." He handed them each a flame shaped Badge. "Unda is only a few hours from here; you could make it there and get your second Badge in one day if you leave now. But you better promise me we'll see each other again squirt."

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly. "I'm not short!" Ireth laughed.

"Yes you are, I'm taller than you!" The two Pokémon just laughed with her. Harry just huffed, annoyed but smiling slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get going. See ya later Pyro!" He called, walking out the door.

"Wait for me!" Ireth called, running after him. Pyro followed at a more relaxed pace out the door and watched the two run off down the road.

"Those two will go far, but there's something about that Harry that just stands out…" He shook his head with a fond smile on his face. "Things just got more interesting."


	6. Chapter 6

Harry and Ireth soon found themselves leaving the bright sunshine of Ignis, to the cool coast that led to Unda. Stretching out to one side was the beautiful ocean, with gentle waves breaking on the shore. On their other side was clumps of trees and brushes, nothing like Flamma Forest but still peaceful in its own right.

"I've never been to the sea before all of this, it's really nice." Harry commented, enjoying the nice breeze.

Ireth nodded, "I love the ocean, and the mountains better than the open plains where you can see as far as the eye can see." She laughed, "Even though you can do that with the ocean, there's something special about that."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the waves when a Pokémon jumped out from some bushes.

_"Maybe one of them will be worthy to be my Trainer."_ It said, taking a fighting stance. It was a small, blue, dog-like Pokémon. Its legs and torso are colored black, its tail is blue and it has a yellow collar. There were rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws, and had a black "mask" and red eyes. It stood on the balls of its feet instead of its entire foot.

"That's a Riolu!" Ireth said excitedly. "They're incredible Pokémon, very strong and loyal to their Trainers."

Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies. **

"I think he wants to battle, he said he was looking for a worthy Trainer."

Riolu looked surprised. _"You can understand me human? What is your name and that of your companion?"_

"My name is Harry, and this is Ireth. I think she may want to battle you Riolu."

The Fighting-type looked at Ireth. _"She has a strong aura, she may be the one. I will battle her."_

"He'll fight you, all yours Ireth." Harry said, moving out of the way.

"Come on out Ralts!" Ireth called, throwing the Pokeball. "Let's get this started, use Magical Leaf!"

"Ralts!" The green and red glowing leaves appeared and shot at Riolu, who tried to jump but some of the leaves hit him. Riolu landed heavily and then charged at Ralts, slamming into her with his paw.

"Ralts…"~_"Ow, that hurt."_ Ralts murmured, standing up.

"You can do it Ralts, use Confusion!" Ralts nodded and her hand glowed, levitating Riolu who looked panicked. Ralts raised him higher and then released Riolu, who landed with a thud, out cold.

"Pokeball go!" Ireth threw a Pokeball at the prone Pokémon, encasing it in red light before sucking it in. The ball twitched twice, before falling silent. "We did it Ralts!" Ireth cheered happily, picking up the Pokeball. "Come on out Riolu, let's get you fixed up."

Riolu appeared, still knocked out. Harry and Ireth knelt next to the unconscious Pokémon and gave it some berries and a Potion.

He snapped back awake, _"Wow, you are strong. You will make a great Trainer." _

After Harry translated, Ireth replied, "I hope to live up to your expectations Riolu, now why don't you and Ralts take a rest? I'll get you checked out at the Pokémon Center." She returned her two Pokémon and stood up with Harry. "That was cool, Riolu are great Pokémon."

"That was a great battle." Harry said, congratulating her. "Let's get going." The two took off again at a faster pace; trying to make up the time they lost. "I hope we make it there today." Harry said, "I want to call some friends and tell them what's happened so far."

Ireth grinned, "We should make it in about an hour…did you hear that?" Ireth had stopped, looking around with a frown. Harry stopped as well, listening.

_"Help…please…."_

"It's coming from that way." Harry pointed to some bushes off the trail. "I hear a voice calling for help."

"I just hear a Pokémon…" Ireth said a worried look on her face. The two made their way into the bushes and froze at the sight that greeted them. A brown badger-looking Pokémon way laying there in obvious pain with deep burns on it in straight lines. It raised its head when it heard them approach,

_"Please…it hurts…."_ It pleaded, letting its head hit the ground again. Both Harry and Ireth sprang into action, bringing out Burn Heals, Potions, berries, and some bandages.

"Shh…it'll be alright, we'll help you." Ireth said, applying the salves.

Harry stroked its head while feeding it some berries. When done, he brought out his Pokedex: **Linoone, the Rushing Pokémon. Linoone is the evolved form of Zigzagoon. It can run at speeds over 60 miles per hour but does not handle curves well.**

"Don't worry Linoone; we'll get you to the Pokémon Center."

_"Thank you human…you are much kinder than the last ones I met."_

"Humans did this to you?" Harry asked shocked, Ireth looking up horrified as well. They had both thought it was an accident or Linoone got into a fight with a Fire-type.

_"Yes…strange humans wearing grey with red….they attacked me with these strange vines that glowed an angry color, neither red nor yellow. It felt like….I was being burned and electrocuted at the same time. I managed to get away before they could catch me…" _Linoone explained, closing its eyes.

After Harry translated, Ireth's eyes were burning with an angry light, just like Harry's own.

"How could any human do this to a Pokémon?" She demanded, a couple tears escaping.

"I don't know, but those monsters better hope I don't get a hold of them." Harry said, standing up. "Absol, we need your help!" He threw the Disaster Pokémon's ball.

_"What is it Harry?" _She asked worriedly, seeing the look on the two human's faces. Silently, Harry gestured to Linoone. Absol's eyes widened, _"What happened to it?"_

"Some humans attacked it with a whip we think that can burn and electrocute at the same time. Could you carry Linoone? We need to get to the Pokémon Center in Unda fast." Absol nodded and kneeled down, making it easier for Harry and Ireth to lift Linoone onto her back. When done, they took off at the fastest pace they could, without causing harm to the Pokémon.

"Nurse Joy!" Harry yelled, barging in and startling some other Trainers and Pokémon. They backed away from the Pokémon behind him, and their eyes widened when they saw Absol's burden.

"What is…oh my." Joy trailed off, seeing the injured Pokémon. "Bring Linoone into the back. Chansey, I need your help." Absol took Linoone into the operating room and left, the door shutting behind her. The operating light came on.

"Hey man, what happened to that Pokémon?" A Trainer asked Harry, who had sat down with Ireth.

"We were walking along the coast and heard something from the bushes." Harry said leaving out only he could hear Linoone calling for help. "We found Linoone in bad shape and healed as best we could. Then we came straight here as fast as possible."

"How'd it get that injured though? Some sort of Fire-type attack?" Another Trainer asked. Ireth shook her head.

"From what we could see, the injuries were in too straight of lines to be a regular Fire-type attack. It looked more like a vine or whip that was super heated did that…and only a human could make something like that." One of the older Trainers snarled,

"Man, humans like that make me sick! You kids did the right thing, good job." The other Trainers nodded with him.

"Yeah..." Harry trailed off, a far-off look in his eyes. He snapped back and turned to Ireth. "I need to make some calls, I'll be right back." After she nodded, Harry walked to the other side of the Center where the video phones were. He figured he'd call Oak first, then Giovanni. After dialing the number, Harry was pleasantly surprised when they both answered the call.

"Harry! How are you lad? Everything going alright?" Oak asked with a grin.

"Let the boy speak Samuel." Giovanni smirked at his friend. He turned back to Harry, just noticing the look on his face. "Harry? What's happened?" As quickly and detailed as he could, Harry first told the two about the Linoone and its injuries, and then told them about the thugs he and Ireth battled in Ignis. The two men's eyes were dark with anger.

"That's just terrible! We need to find out who these people are, and what was used on that poor Pokémon." Oak said determinedly.

"I'll get my men on it right away, I promise." Giovanni said. "I'll tear them from the ground up. Team Rocket may steal Pokémon, but we treat them right."

Harry nodded grimly, and then let a lighter smile appear on his face, "On a happier note, I've already got my first Badge, and met a new friend. We decided to travel together." Both men smiled.

"That's great Harry, and it's always more fun to travel with friends. How is the Egg?" The Professor asked.

"No changes yet, but it _is_ getting warmer, last I checked anyway."

Giovanni nodded, "That could mean that it's very close to hatching, maybe even today. Well, we have some work to do and you have another Gym Leader to beat. Good luck Harry. Oh, Harry before I forget, Jesse, James, and Meowth are in the region now, so you may see them."

"Thanks and good luck to you two too. Bye." Harry said, ending the call. Harry stepped out of the booth and walked back to Ireth, who was talking to Nurse Joy.

"Ah, there you are Harry!" Joy said happily. "The good news is, is that Linoone will make a full recovery and be released back into the wild in a couple of days. My sister in Ignis also called, telling me about you. So would you like to see Linoone?" Harry nodded, grinning.

"Yeah, we both do. Would you also look over our Pokémon?" Joy nodded and took their Pokeballs and led the two into the recovery ward.

Linoone looked up, its eyes bright. Nurse Joy worked a miracle with the Normal-type. _"Hello humans. I wanted to thank you for what you've done for me."_

"You're welcome Linoone. We wanted to see you before we leave to battle the Gym Leader." Harry said happily.

_"I wish you both luck and hope to see you again in the future." _Linoone said, laying back down for a nap. Harry and Ireth quietly left and headed back outside, breathing in the fresh ocean air.

"Since we've got some time to kill, let's explore Unda. I also need to resupply, we used almost all our berries and Potions today."

"Alright, let's meet at the shopping center in about an hour." The girl nodded and walked off. Harry was walking, enjoying the sites of the docks and all the boats, not to mention the Water-types about, when he heard a loud crack from behind him and felt his back pack wiggling. Stopping, he sat down, removing his pack in the process. Carefully, he lifted the Egg, which now sported a few cracks, out of the back-pack. It wiggled a few more times, before a furry nose poked through a hole in the Egg.

Harry helped the baby get out of the shell and observed the Pokémon that came out. A small, fox-like Pokémon that had a white pelt with ice-blue highlights, turquoise, pupil-less eyes and six dark blue tails came out of the Egg. It also had what looked like dark blue bangs across its forehead as well as locks. It had a cream underbelly, and dark blue feet. Harry brought out the Pokedex: **Vulpix, a Fox Pokémon. Its six tails are extremely beautiful. As it evolves, it grows even more tails.** Gently, he picked up the baby.

"Aren't you just beautiful little one?" He cooed, holding Vulpix like he would a human baby and tickling its belly, causing the newborn to giggle. Harry noticed it was a girl.

_"Papa!"_ She cooed happily.

"Yes little one, I'll be your papa." Harry said with a smile, using one arm to put his back-pack back on. "Let's go see Nurse Joy to make sure everything is alright. And then we'll go pick up some things you may want." The walk back was spent playing with Vulpix, letting her nibble on Harry's fingers and tickling her. Harry, grinning happily walked into the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy was standing off to the side, speaking with a kind looking woman wearing a dress in shades of soft blue and green, with sky blue hair done in a loose pony tail.

"Nurse Joy? I don't mean to interrupt, but my Vulpix just hatched and I wanted to make sure she is alright." Harry said politely, walking up. Both women looked at Harry, and cooed at the newborn.

"What a beautiful Vulpix! You said she just hatched?" Joy asked, gently taking the Fire-type.

"Yes ma'am."

"What unusual coloring." The blue-wearing lady said with a soft voice. She turned sea blue eyes onto Harry. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Aqua, Gym Leader of Unda."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello, I'm Harry. I and my friend Ireth were hoping to battle you later, but for now I need to get Vulpix some supplies and anything else she may need." While the two watched Joy play with and check Vulpix, Aqua asked,

"Why are you on your Journey if I might ask? To be Pokémon Masters?" Harry blinked, turning his eyes away from his new Pokémon to look at the waiting Leader.

"Why does everyone always ask me that?" Harry laughed, "Ireth and me just want to see what the world has to offer and be strong for our Pokémon. Though Ireth also wants to try for a Dragon Mastery later on."

Aqua blinked at the answer, liking the teen's innocence she smiled, "Interesting. Would you mind if I went with you to shop for Vulpix? That way we can find your friend and battle later on."

"Sure, I'm terrible at shopping anyway, wouldn't know the first thing to get her." Joy came back, a giggling Vulpix in her arms.

"Everything checked out alright, she's perfectly healthy. Make sure you get her some formula for Fire-types when you shop, and anything soft she can chew and play with would be good to get as well."

"Thank you Nurse Joy. Let's go little one." Harry said, smiling at Vulpix. He and Aqua walked out of the Center and began heading to the store. Along the way, the two talked about trivial things while the two entertained the baby.

Arriving at the store Aqua led the way to the newborn section.

"Let's see, you'll need plenty of formula, some rags incase she spits up, and some toys…" This went on for about fifteen minutes, the Gym Leader having a blast picking out things for Vulpix, who was chewing on a gummy toy Harry had picked up. "That should do it, let's pay for everything." Aqua said, coming back with some blankets with fire print.

At the counter they ran into Ireth who was packing up their new supplies.

"Hey Harry!" She waved, and then noticed the two new arrivals. "Who's this? And the Egg hatched? And I wasn't there?" She mock-groaned. Harry laughed.

"Yeah, the Egg hatched. This is Vulpix, isn't she just a cutie?" At Vulpix's questioning yip, he explained, "This is Ireth, your Aunt."

_"Aunt Ireth!"_ Vulpix cooed, holding out her paws to be picked up.

"Hello, you are just the cutest thing!" Ireth playfully tickled the baby's ears. She looked up at the lady, "Hello, I'm Ireth, I'm traveling with Harry."

"I'm Aqua, Gym Leader of Unda. I've heard some about you from Harry." She turned back to Harry who had finished paying for everything. "Let's get to the Gym; I believe I owe you a battle Harry."

The emerald eyed teen grinned, "Yeah, let's get going!" The trio left, Vulpix on Harry's shoulders and nipping on his ears. The Unda Gym looked like a large pool with floating stone islands scattered about.

As everyone took their places, Vulpix asked, _"Papa, can I battle?"_

Harry looked at the Fire-type, "Are you sure?" Vulpix gave a determined nod and Harry grinned, "Then yes you can." Vulpix gave a happy yip and jumped to the nearest platform.

"You're letting Vulpix battle?" Aqua asked surprised as she prepared to send her own Pokémon out.

"I have faith in her, she'll do just fine."

Ireth laughed, "This'll be good. Let's go Riolu!"

"Ri!" The Fighting-type called out, taking a stance. He glanced over at Vulpix and the two nodded. Aqua smiled.

"Very well. Come on out Marill and Milotic!" The first to come out was a small blue mammalian Pokémon. It had a nearly spherical shape with a white underside (belly) and round ears with red ear insides. It also had a wiry black tail with a blue "bubble" on the end of it. Harry's Pokedex said: **Marill, the Water Mouse Pokémon. Its sensitive ears can detect distant sounds and the round part of its tail can expand and contract, assisting Marill in the water.**

The second Pokémon reminded Harry of a sea serpent. Its sinuous body is mostly cream in coloration, with red eyes and three black dots down its neck. The top of its head is long, with a point at the end, and long, thin red 'eyebrows' extending from above its eyes and thicker, also red-colored hair-like fins draping from the sides of the head. Its lower tail is covered with blue and pink scales, with striations of black, and four large scales, blue with red spots in the middle, overlap at the tip of the tail to look like a fan. All in all it was a very beautiful Pokémon. Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Milotic, the Tender Pokémon. Milotic is able to soften human anger and hatred by emitting soothing frequencies from its body.**

"This will be a two on two battle. First side to have their Pokémon knocked out loses. Ready….begin!" The referee said.

"Vulpix, use Will-o-Wisp, and then Quick-Attack!" Harry ordered. Vulpix let out strange blue flames that hit Marill straight on, causing a Burn Status, though it managed to dodge the other's Quick-Attack.

"Riolu, use Force-Palm!" The Fighting-type charged straight for Milotic.

"Milotic use Twister!" Aqua called.

"Mil!" The Water-type's tail glowed and it began waving it around, causing a tornado to appear on the water. Riolu couldn't dodge it in time and was swept up.

"Riolu, try to ride the twister!" Ireth yelled encouragingly. Riolu closed his eyes and began concentrating, angling his body to ride the wind. By doing this, he also gained a lot of speed. "Now get out of there and hit Milotic!" The Pokémon exited the attack at a high velocity straight at the Milotic, knocking them both out. "Riolu return! You did fantastic." Ireth said to the Pokeball.

"Milotic return! Marill it's all up to you, use Water Gun!" The Water-type stood up and began launching powerful streams of water.

"Vulpix dodge and use Confuse Ray!" Harry yelled. The Fire-type agilely dodged the other Pokémon attack and shot a strange ray from its eyes at Marill. The attack hit and Marill began walking around in circles.

"Marill! Use Water Gun again on Vulpix!" Aqua tried to order, but Marill just began hitting itself. That combined with its burns knocked it out.

"The winners are Harry and Ireth!" The referee said.

"We did it!" The two chorused, Harry leaping out onto the platform to pick up an ecstatic Vulpix.

_"How did I do papa?"_ She asked eyes wide as she was twirled around.

"You did fantastic little one." Harry said happily, hugging her close.

"You all did fantastic." Aqua said, joining Harry on the platform. Ireth jumped on next, a tired but happy Riolu in her arms. "Even against odds with a newborn and a Fire-type at that, you two beat my Pokémon. I am proud to present you the Water Badge." She handed them the dew drop badge, laughing when the two began cheering. "Ventus is next, but that's a day's walk from here. Good luck you two and be sure to say good-bye to that Linoone you brought in." Aqua began giggling when the two gave her a surprised look, "Joy told me about what you did, a lot of Trainers heard about it. You two are heroes here." Right before the two left, she gave Harry a kiss on the forehead, causing him to blush, "I hope we meet again."

After the two got their Pokémon treated and said goodbye to Linoone and Joy, the duo left Unda. Soon the ocean view changed to a more hilly terrain with a constant breeze blowing, matching Ventus' name. They stopped by a river to relax when further down they saw a bunch of blue octopus-like Pokémon with large red eyes on top of their shells wrapping their tentacles around a poor fisherman.

"Eevee come on out, use Quick-Attack on those Pokémon!"

"Ralts, use Confusion, throw them back into the water."

In no time at all, all the Water-type Pokémon were back into the river and swimming away.

"Thank you kindly kids. Caught one on a line and then was attacked by all of them." The fisherman said gratefully. He reached into his pack and brought out a collapsible fishing rod and gave it to Ireth. "Don't have much, but if you ever want a Water-type, that'll give you a good one. Bye kids!" He said, racing off to a new fishing spot.

"That…was a little weird." Harry said, returning Eevee and sitting back down.

"Yeah. Well since he gave it to us, let's see how good it is." Ireth said, casting a line and sitting down, Ralts right beside her. Ten minutes later the line tugged. The midnight-haired girl stood up excited and began reeling it in. Out of the water and onto the bank came a pale pink-purple, medium-sized fish. Its notable characteristics include large, heavy scales. Its fins were primarily white; it also had two stiff, three-peaked fins on its back and stomach which are both white as well. As the Pokémon flopped around, Harry's Pokedex said: **Magikarp, the Fish Pokémon. Magikarp can live in the dirtiest of water. It jumps very well and can evolve into Gyarados. **

"That's weird; the picture shows the Magikarp a different color." Harry noted putting the Pokedex away.

"Maybe it's a shiny Pokémon like your Vulpix. I'll catch it, it's cute." Ireth said. "Ralts, use Magical Leaf."

"Ralts!" She called, firing the attack at the prone Fish Pokémon, knocking it out in one shot. Ireth threw the Pokeball, catching it immediately. "Sweet, two Pokémon in one day."

Harry laughed, "At this rate, you'll catch them all!" He looked up at the sky, seeing it start to change colors with the setting sun. "Let's camp here for tonight; we'll start again after breakfast tomorrow."

Ireth nodded and returned Ralts. While she was gathering firewood, Harry had started dinner for the two of them as well as making food for all the Pokémon. Ten minutes later had everyone chowing down.

"Wow Harry, this is really good!" Ireth complimented, eating her soup. She laughed when Harry blushed.

_"Miss Ireth is right. This food is delicious!" _Ralts said happily.

_"Indeed Harry."_ Riolu said from beside Ralts. Vulpix was happily drinking her formula made by Harry and nodded, unable to talk.

_"Good."_ Was all that Magikarp said, the newest Pokémon would only say a word or so at a time. Absol finished off her food and snuggled down beside her Trainer,

_"Best food I've had in years, cub."_ By now, Harry was a bright neon red from blushing so hard, causing them all to laugh.

After dinner, the two cleaned up, returned their Pokémon, put out the fire and crawled into their sleeping bags. Ireth though, was woken a few hours later by horrified screaming. Quickly looking around, her lavender eyes landed on a thrashing Harry, eyes wildly moving under his eyelids.

"Harry…Harry!" She tried to shake him awake. "It's just a nightmare, wake up!"

The emerald eyed teen snapped awake and up, nearly hitting the other. He glanced around, eyes wide and slightly glazed, before landing on Ireth. By the light of the moon, she could see him blush in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I woke you…"

Ireth waved him off, concerned. "Forget that. That must have been one hell of a nightmare, wanna talk about it?"

"Not really….and it's no worse than the other ones…" Harry mumbled, putting on his glasses.

"You've had nightmares like this before?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, nothing seems to help, at least everything I've tried." Ireth thought for a minute while Harry gathered his bearings.

"Have you tried meditating? And sorting your memories? I do it and they help keep my mind calm."

"At this point I'm ready to try anything to get them to stop and have a full night's sleep."

"Okay, listen to me. Sit Indian-style, close your eyes and start taking deep breaths." Harry followed her instructions, calming his racing heart in the process. Ireth continued in a soft, quiet tone, "Now, I want to empty your mind of all thoughts because you're going to tidy things up, so to speak. I want you to separate your memories, place them in different areas however you want. Put them somewhere safe, where no one can find them but you. Protect them if you want to, however you want."

Under her soft tones, Harry did as instructed. He first emptied his mind, making it look like an endless black abyss. He thought the idea of hiding and protecting them was a great idea, so he started to categorize his memories into sections, placing the memories themselves into trunks, like his school one. Everything from before Hogwarts was one area, Hogwarts years in another. His friends from his original reality went into a third, and everything from this new one went into a fourth, and everything involving Voldemort went into the last section. He hid the trunks in different sections, and then thought of how to hide and protect them. Remembering that there were different Pokémon and elements, he decided on that. The first area was Fire, the trunk hiding in a volcano with fireballs raining down on intruders. The second was Water; Harry hid the trunk in the ocean with waves and whirlpools protecting it. The third was Earth, the trunk in the middle of a mountain with a labyrinth of caves leading to dead ends and traps. The next one was Air, with twisters and high-speed winds protecting the trunk, which was flying around. The last trunk was sitting in the middle of a barren field with a shield of electricity around it, lightning striking every second all over the place. Putting the finishing touches on it, he put Pokémon of those five types he's met so far in each area to protect it, so far he has Arcanine, Magmar, Charmeleon and Magcargo in Fire, Milotic and Marill in Water, and last Luxio in Lightning. As he met more Pokémon he would add them as protection.

Satisfied with how it was so far, Harry turned his attention back to the real world.

"Good, now I want you to slowly come back to reality, don't try to jar yourself." He heard Ireth say. She smiled when Harry opened his eyes, inner peace shining through them. "Great job Harry, I see it in your eyes it was a success. Now, I want you to meditate every night from now on, before bed, sort your new memories of the day into whatever you chose. You can add stuff later if you like. Believe me, this will help."

"Thanks a million Ireth, I feel better already. Let's get some sleep."


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning went by smoothly, the two had a quick but filling breakfast provided by Harry, and then they set off. Ireth had an especially nice morning when the two encountered a Viberva, a dragonfly-like Pokémon. It had a skinny yellow body, and green rhombus-shaped wings along with two similar-looking shapes at the end of its tail with green eyes and skinny black legs. She was extremely happy as it was her first Dragon-type Pokémon. They hit a bump though when they ran into a detour sign.

"'All roads to Ventus are being repaired because of the earthquake.' Well that just sucks." Harry said with a frown. "What should we do?"

Ireth had pulled out a little booklet and was flipping through it. "According to this little map, if we head that way and cut across the fields, it'll led straight to Terra. We could head there, get our Badges, and hopefully the roads will be fixed so we can get into Ventus."

"Sounds like a plan, let's go." Harry said, talking off across the rocky terrain. The two traveled for a few hours, watching the scenery change to large rolling hills. The area was filled with Pokémon flying around or playing, though neither Harry nor Ireth felt like catching any of them. Their peace was disturbed when a familiar banter, at least to Harry, was heard.

"I'm telling you, it's this way!" A female voice said.

"You're wrong, it's this way." A male voice said back. A third sighed,

"We shoulda bought that map…" Harry grinned.

"I know those voices! Let's go Ireth; I want you to meet some friends of mine." Harry started racing up and over the hill, and at the base was Jesse, James, and Meowth, the two humans pointed in differently directions while the Pokémon was sitting on a rock, watching them. "Hey guys!" The teen called happily, drawing three surprised gazes up to him. Jesse caught him as he nearly rushed past.

"Harry! How are you? Are you getting enough to eat? Not hurt are you? Have-"

"Give the kid a break Jess." James laughed, tugging the emerald eyed teen into his arms for a hug. "Hey Harry, how are you doing?" Harry laughed, scratching Meowth's ears as he sat down with the two, Ireth sitting beside him.

"I've been great, this is Ireth. We met in Flamma Forest and decided to get our Badges together. We already got two!" He said excitedly. The three grinned.

"That's great! At this rate you'll have them all in no time. Anything else happen?" Meowth asked sitting on Harry's lap. Harry and Ireth's eyes darkened.

"Yeah, there's this group of thugs…" And the two took turns explaining about the group they encountered. The Rockets were glaring slightly.

"Boss told us about them when he was briefing everyone about your new rules, Harry. They were actually quite popular with everyone; you have the whole of Team Rocket behind you." James said.

"We're all to observe how a Trainer treats their Pokémon and decide from there if we need to steal them or not. If they're happy we leave them alone, if not we grab them." Jesse added.

"The Boss said we need to keep an eye out for these thugs and report to him when and where we see them." Meowth finished. The group chatted for about an hour, with Harry making lunch for them all, when Jesse stood up.

"We need to get going, Boss will want to have us tell him where you are and how you're doing."

"Okay, we need to get to Terra." Harry said, hugging the three. He and Ireth watched them go over a hill and out of sight. They started walking again, seeing Terra on the horizon.

"Hey Harry, can I ask you something?" Ireth started. When Harry nodded she continued, "Those three were from Team Rocket, correct?" Nod. "The way they talked, it seemed like you're close to the leader of Team Rocket."

"Yup, his name is Giovanni. He's a cool guy, though the kind that usually hide their emotions with most people."

"Sweet, you know a multi-billionaire!" Ireth laughed. Harry just glared good-naturedly as they headed into the city.

"Well…I guess I'll-"

"Come with me to go shopping." Ireth said, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him to the shopping center. "You never do, so this time you're coming with me, like it or not." Gulping, Harry just silently followed the crazy girl, thinking _'This is why I don't like shopping with women, they turn into terrifying creatures!'_

Fate though, seemed to be smiling down on Harry and separated the two in the crowd. Dimly he heard Ireth call she'd find him later. Shrugging, he started to wander around, eventually finding a floral store. Smiling gently he walked in; he had always loved nature and the peace it could give just working in a garden. As he walked down the aisles, just breathing in the beautiful scents, he spotted a little girl about seven or eight, frowning at the flowers and biting her lip.

"Something wrong?" He asked politely, kneeling down.

"My mama just had a baby and I wanted to make her a bouquet, but I don't know what flowers to get her." She explained, nearly tearing up.

"Here now, don't cry." Harry soothed, wiping the girl's tears away. "I'll help you." Taking her hand, he started walking up and down the aisles, pulling flowers seemingly at random. Satisfied with his choices, Apple Blossom, Baby's Breath, Coltsfoot, and Gerbera, he then went to the arrangement area and bought a crystal vase. Placing the flowers in it, he started to move them around making the colors of the flowers blend beautifully. "There we go." He said finally, handing the girl the vase. She looked awed at the arrangement.

"These are really pretty!" The little girl's eyes lit up. Smiling happily she grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the checkout counter, chatting away about something, Harry couldn't pick out what. Behind the counter was a woman with short light brown hair wearing a leaf green sun dress.

"Hi Trema! This boy is really nice; he helped me pick out flowers for my mommy! Aren't they pretty? I'm gonna go show her now!" The girl said very quickly, paying for the flowers and running out of the store.

"Wow…" Harry said, speechless. He blushed when Trema began to giggle.

"You made her very happy, I've seen her here before; trying to get a bouquet for her mother but never could get the one she wanted." She put her hand over the counter, "I'm Trema, Floral Mistress of Terra as well as its Gym Leader."

Smiling, Harry shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Harry. My friend Ireth and I are hoping to battle you later." Trema smiled, light green eyes twinkling.

"I look forward to it. I'm curious though, why did you pick out those flowers?"

"They seemed the right ones to me; I guess you could say it called out to me." Harry said shrugging at his words.

"Interesting, I've never met a boy who has such instinct about flowers, usually it's a female thing."

"I've always loved nature, I did all the gardening at home. It's always calmed me." The woman studied Harry for a minute, before calling someone else to take care of the counter.

"Come with me please, I want to see something." She led Harry to the back of the store through a door. On the other side was a large greenhouse, filled with hundreds of flowers. "I want to see how good your instincts are. I'm going to give you a theme and I want you to create an arrangement matching my theme."

"Alright," Harry said nodding.

Trema smiled, "My theme is what Pokémon mean to you."

The emerald eyed teen blinked and then smiled and nodded before setting off into the flowery jungle. He started muttering to himself glancing at the flowers and started gathering them. He grabbed Angelica, Arbor Vitae, Bouvardia, Eucalyptus, Fern, Iris, and Thyme. He arranged them in his hands much like he did with the other bouquet and then returned to Trema. She started examining his choices.

"In alphabetical order, their meanings are Inspiration, True Friendship, Excitement and Enthusiasm, Safeguard and Protection, Sincerity and Confidence, Faith, and Courage and Strength. Excellent choices for what Pokémon mean to you, and a beautiful arrangement. Very eye catching and peaceful to look at." She took a deep breath. "And the fragrances mix wonderfully. You, my little protégé, have created a masterpiece." By now, Harry was blushing to the roots of his hair at the praise. "I would like your permission to see this arrangement pattern sold to the public." She added.

"Of course you can, I just hope others will like it."

Trema smirked, "There's no doubt they will. Want to make some more?"

"Where the heck is Harry?" Ireth muttered, walking around. The raven haired boy had disappeared on her after she finished shopping and she had spent the past half hour trying to find him. Her search was interrupted when she heard a commotion a few stores down. "What the heck is going on over there?"

She walked over and found out that all the noise was coming from one store, the flower shop. Ireth watched as people kept scrambling into the store, all shouting something like, "I want the Pokémon theme!" "I want two orders of Family Bonds!" "Seasonal Dreams! I must have Seasonal Dreams!"

"Excuse me." Ireth started on one customer that seemed calmer than the rest. She was admiring her purchase of flowers, the vase tied with an emerald ribbon. "What's with everybody?"

"You haven't heard? There's a new genius in the shop! He's so young, but he does the work of a master, he made this earlier. I was the first to get it; he calls it 'Fantasy's Hope'."

"It is very beautiful; who did you say made it?" Ireth questioned.

"I didn't catch his name, but it was a boy about your age with black hair and the purest green for eyes I've ever seen." The woman answered and then walked away.

Ireth stood there for a minute, and then started laughing. "First time I bring him into a store, he creates masterpieces out of flowers. Wonder what'll happen if I bring him to a new store?" She snickered to herself as she went to go save her friend.

Two hours later found a happy Trema, an embarrassed Harry, and a laughing Ireth outside the store in the garden, a crowd of Harry's fans, all holding different arrangements Harry had made. Everyone was cheering a side on, all looking forward to the battle.

"This will be a two on two battle; the first side to have all their Pokémon knocked out will lose." The referee

"I chose Ralts!" Ireth called.

"Come on out Vulpix!" Harry said, laughing when the Fire-type jumped up and started to lick his face.

"Roselia and Sunflora, I choose you!" Trema threw the Pokeballs. The first was a small Pokémon with a light green body, a leaf skirt and holds a rose on each of its hands, a red one in its right and a blue one in its left. It had leaves extending from its shoulders like epaulettes, and a pointed streak of yellow extends from its neck down the forefront of its leaf skirt. Visible from the back is a small stretch of yellow coloration around its neck much like a collar. It also had three thorns on top of its head. Harry's Pokedex said: **Roselia, the Thorn Pokémon. Roselia's aroma can bring serenity, but the thorns on its head contain a vicious poison.**

The second Pokémon that reminded Harry of a sunflower. Every part of the Pokémon's body but its head is colored green, with its face being cream-colored. Its head is circular and sports sunflower-like yellow petals from the sides, although the back of its head is cream-colored. It had leaves extending like arms from its round body, and two toes on each foot. **Sunflora, the Sun Pokémon. This smiling Pokémon loves the sun, but it also needs plenty of water to ensure healthy development.**

"Sunflora use Razor Leaf! Roselia use Poison Sting!" Trema started the battle quickly.

"Dodge and use Flamethrower Vulpix!" The Fox Pokémon nimbly dodged the leaves before firing a stream of fire straight at Sunflora, hitting it directly.

"Flora…" It said, standing up with resolve.

"Use Teleport, then Confusion on Roselia!" Ireth said, watching the needles fly towards her Pokémon. Ralts vanished in a flash of light, reappearing right behind Roselia, who started to glow and float.

"Ral!" Ralts yelled, throwing the Grass/Poison type at Sunflora, knocking them both down. Roselia was knocked out, but Sunflora was still standing.

"Nice try kids. Sunflora, use Solar Beam!" The Sun Pokémon's head started to glow like the sun, gathering energy.

"Uh oh…" Ireth murmured. "Together?"

"Together." Harry agreed. "Vulpix, use Fire Spin!" The Fire-type jumped up into the air and started spinning, flames coating its fur.

"Ralts, use Confusion on Vulpix, prepare to fire it at Sunflora!" Using its psychic powers, Ralts held up the fireball that Vulpix now was.

As one, the three Trainers yelled, "Fire!" A powerful beam of light shot from Sunflora straight at Vulpix who had been tossed and was still being encased in Ralts power. It looked like a tie between the Pokémon.

"Come on Ralts, give it a little more. I know you can do it!" Ireth cheered for her Pokémon. Ralts nodded and glowed brighter, sending Vulpix at the Grass-type, knocking it out.

"Harry and Ireth are the winners!" The referee said.

"We did…huh?" Both teens paused to watch Ralts, who was still glowing and getting brighter. The light started to change shape before vanishing all together.

"Kirlia…" The new Pokémon said, looking at her form. She now had a white body and looks as if it was wearing a tutu. She has skinny, green legs, and her hair now had bangs that reach down to her shoulders and the two red horns that looked like hair pins. Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon. Kirlia is able to sense the feelings of its Trainer, and when it becomes happy, it will start to dance. **Ecstatic, Ireth gathered up Kirlia.

"You evolved! This is so cool!" Kirlia started giggling at her Trainer's antics, jumping down and dancing just like a professional ballerina.

"Congratulations Ireth, and you, Harry, for beating me." Trema said, smiling as she watched the teens. "I now present you with the Earth Badge, proof that you beat me." She handed the two the leaf-shaped badges. "I heard earlier that the roads to Ventus are open, you should head there next."

"We will, and thank you for everything." Harry said gratefully, returning Vulpix while Ireth returned Kirlia.

"Thank you Harry for the battle and your beautiful floral ideas." Trema said, kissing Harry's forehead. The teen started blushing like crazy, causing the audience to laugh.

"We…uh…gotta go…let's go Ireth!" Harry called, already running out of the city.

"I swear he blushes at everything!" Ireth said, laughing as she chased down her friend.

"Alright, and thank you for telling me this." Giovanni said, hanging up the phone. "Samuel, I have great news. Harry just beat Trema in Terra and is now on his way to Ventus."

"That's incredible news!" Oak said happily. "I knew he'd make a great Trainer."

"There's more, apparently the boy has a knack for plants, he's created several arrangements that are flying off the shelves." Giovanni laughed lightly. "At this rate, Harry will be richer than me!"

"That would be something to see, we should set up something for all of his profits." Oak murmured thoughtfully.

"Already done. I can't wait to see what he does next; he always manages to surprise me." The Rocket Head said, petting Persian.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry and Ireth continued to walk down the sandy road, still happy from their recent victory against Trema.

"At this rate, we'll be able to enter the League in a few months, give or take." Ireth noted, smiling happily.

Harry nodded, "Though, we should slow down a bit, we've been pushing the Pokémon quite a bit. A few days off from battling would do them and us some good."

"You're right, so what should we do?"

The emerald-eyed teen thought for a second, "Well...is there anything interesting nearby we could visit? A special park or something?"

The two Trainers stopped walking and sat down on some boulders near the road. While Harry closed his eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing through the trees, Ireth was digging through her pack. "Ah ha! Found it." She held up a small book, Harry looked over and read the title as she flipped through it 'A novice's guide to Omnera: Everything you need to know, plus stuff you don't!' "Let's see…there's a ranch nearby dedicated to Pokémon…run by a dude named Mr. Breeder." Ireth summed out loud. "He's related to the Pokémon expert, Mr. Pokémon, cousins or something…"

"What kind of ranch is this place?" Harry questioned.

"It says it's all about Breeding unusual Pokémon and releasing them but won't say anything else." Ireth snapped the book shut and put it away.

"It sounds interesting, how far away is it?"

The black-haired girl stood up, "We follow this road to a fork. Forward leads to Ventus, while Mr. Breeder's Ranch is along the road to the right, about half a mile."

Harry grinned, "What are we standing around here for? Let's go!"

The two jogged nearly the whole way, enjoying the bright day. They didn't even get sweaty because of the constant cool breeze. Within twenty minutes, they were standing at the gates of the ranch. It reminded Harry a lot of Professor Oak's lab and the pastures surrounding it, but instead of a high-tech lab, a more traditional ranch-style building greeted their gazes. The Pokémon in the pastures caught their attention as well.

"Those Pokémon look kinda….strange." Harry thought out loud. "Not in a bad way, but kinda like Vulpix or Magikarp. And there are some Pokémon that seem out of place from the others, wonder why?"

"Oh! All of them are Shiny Pokémon." Ireth realized. The two of them shared a bewildered look. "Does that mean that this dude is responsible for breeding every Shiny Pokémon in the world?"

"Looks like it. Come on, we can asks him in person." Harry took off down the gravel pathway, Ireth at his side.

Rapping twice on the door, the two began to snicker at the frantic 'Hold on, I'm coming, nearly there!' and the door opened. A man dressed a lot like a Cowboy in his late forties answered the door. With him having lots of laughter lines around his eyes and a kind smile, he reminded the two teens of a favorite Uncle-type figure. Though at the moment, the man was panting slightly, and the sounds of multiple crying could be heard in the background. "Hello, what can I do for you kids? I'm Mr. Breeder."

"Hello sir, we just wanted to ask you a few questions, but it seems like you're busy…" Ireth trailed off as the crying steadily grew in volume.

Mr. Breeder gave a wry though tired smile, "Little lady, you don't know the half of it. Several Pokémon just recently hatched, all at once. It's been hectic around here, and I'm the only human here."

Feeling sorry for the man, the teens shared a quick look, then Harry stepped forward, "Mr. Breeder, we'd like to help out. I've got a baby Pokémon myself, so we both know the basics. You can tell us what you want us to do."

The Ranch Head eyes lit up with hope, "You kids would do that for me? But what about your journey? I take it you two are Trainers."

Ireth just grinned and answered, "We both decided for a break from that, and what better way to spend it than helping cute baby Pokémon?"

Unable to deny their request (and sorely needing the help), Mr. Breeder led the two inside. The room that they entered was the living room, the décor matching the ranch theme. The man led them to the next room, which was apparently the nursery. If they couldn't tell from the baby things around and decorating the room, then the dozen or so cradles with crying newborn Pokémon did. While his companions only heard their cries, Harry heard so much more.

_"Hungry!" "I wanna play!" "Scared!" "Sleepy, want nap!" _ Were just a few things he heard in the dull roar of the room. He turned to the frantic Mr. Breeder to the expectant Ireth. "Okay, this one here, wants to play, same as those two." Harry started pointing to the babies as he listed off. "Those four are all hungry, these two are scared of all the noise, and the rest just want to take a nap, but can't with all the crying. I can calm the two scared ones."

"I'll play with these three." Ireth gathered the mentioned Pokémon in her arms as she said this and went to a corner with toys.

"Mr. Breeder, can you feed the four others?"

Not questioning the youth and not wanting to question a miracle (though he would later) Mr. Breeder nodded and set about getting formula ready. For the next several hours all that could be found in the nursery was three humans taking care of all the babies, from feeding to napping to playing to just keeping them out of trouble, they were never so happy as when they all settled down for a (hopefully) long nap. Tip-toeing out into the living room, Mr. Breeder quietly left and returned with some drinks.

"I don't know how to thank you kids enough, it would have taken me forever to figure out what they all wanted and given it to them."

Ireth laughed, "Thank Harry and his gift of Poke-speech!"

Said teen just raised an eyebrow, "'Poke-speech?' Really? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Oh be quiet, I'm still working on it."

Mr. Breeder just laughed, "I don't care if you can turn into a Pokémon, I'd still be grateful. You really know your stuff kid, Harry I guess your name is."

Harry blushed, "Whoops, we forgot to introduce ourselves. Yeah, I'm Harry and this is Ireth. Anyway, I just got a baby Pokémon not too long ago." He tossed out Vulpix's Pokeball, the little fox happily cuddling up to her 'papa'.

"My, was a beautiful Pokémon. I've never seen one with that coloring before, and I breed Shinies!" Mr. Breeder breathed in awe. "May I?" He asked, gesturing to the Fire-type. Nodding, Harry handed over the curious Pokémon, who is gently prodded and tickled by the human, who was checking everything out. "She's as healthy and happy as any Pokémon I've seen, you've done a fantastic job Harry."

Finishing off her drink, Ireth asked, "Do you need us to stay for awhile sir to help out? We'd be more than happy to."

Mr. Breeder shook his head, "That won't be necessary. The reason it was so hectic today was because they had all hatched at the same time and I couldn't keep up. But now that things have calmed down, it'll get back to normal."

"I'm glad to hear that Mr. Breeder." Harry said with a grin. "Well, I guess we should get out of your hair."

The cowboy nodded, "Yeah, you two need to get back on your Journey, still, I wish there was something I could do for you two for all your help. How'd you like to catch one of the Shinies around here? I'd know for sure that they were going to Trainers that would treat them the way they deserve to be treated."

Ireth shook her head, "While I like taking care of the babies, I'm not ready for my own just yet."

"I'll do it, and I know Vulpix would love a new playmate." Harry grinned. He jumps slightly though, when he feels something nudge his leg. Looking down, he sees a mostly teal Pokémon with a cream colored belly. A yellow stripe ran down the length of its back and tail, and it had yellow markings around its large eyes. Yellow, curved structures protruded from its shoulders and bent backwards. While it largely resembled a snake, it had developed limbs; its arms were the same teal as its body and had three fingers, while its tiny feet had no digits whatsoever. At the end of its tail was a large palmate leaf with three prongs at the end. Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter.**

"That Snivy is one of the quietest in its group that hatched a while ago and he seemed to take a liking to you pretty good. He's also one of the Pokémon from the Unova region a ways away. Not many of them Pokémon are around here." Mr. Breeder noted a grin on his face.

"Want to come with me little one?" Harry asked softly. The little Pokémon nodded happily, cuddling up to the Trainer. Smiling happily, Harry pressed a Pokeball to him and captured Snivy.

"I know he'll have a happy home with you Harry. I look forward to seeing you in the League soon." Mr. Breeder clapped Harry and Ireth on the back. Gathering their things, the two teens wave their good-bye to the Ranch Head and continue down the road, excited about what would happen next.


	10. Chapter 10

"Let's take a break; my feet are starting to hurt." Ireth said, sitting down on a rock and rubbing her sore feet. The duo had just walked over the newly fixed bridge that led to Ventus and were now traveling over the breezy hills that surrounded the city.

"Yeah, we've come quite a ways from Terra." Harry agreed, sitting down near the river that wound its way through the hills. "I've got some ration bars, want one?"

"Sure," Ireth took the offered food and the two started eating in silence. "Harry, do you think we can make it to the Naturis League?"

"I know we will…now winning it on the other hand…" Harry trailed off, smirking causing Ireth to laugh. "See? That's better. The only thing we can do is just to try our best, for ourselves and our Pokémon."

"You're right, thanks." Ireth said, finishing up her rations bar. "Let's make some food for our Pokémon, they've done so much for us lately, they deserve it."

Harry grinned, pulling out his Pokeballs, "That's a great idea. Come on out everyone!" Ireth threw hers at the same time. The little clearing was filled with their Pokémon relaxing around them. In no time flat, Harry whipped up food for them all and they were all happily chowing down. "Glad you're enjoying it." He laughed, fixing up a soup for himself and Ireth. While ration bars were okay, nothing beat Harry's cooking.

"They love your food. I can't even understand them and I know that." Ireth laughed with him, accepting a bowl. The next ten minutes were filled with the sounds of happy Pokémon eating, when Absol lifted her head.

"What's wrong Absol?" Harry asked, pausing in his eating, Ireth copying him.

_"Something's in the water beside Ireth."_ She said, watching something behind them. The two humans turned around slowly and saw a blue head with white fins on side of its head with purple colored eyes and a small white circular feature on its head. Seeing the humans looking at it, the Pokémon rose a little out of the water, showing it had a serpentine-like body. Harry's Pokedex said: **Dratini, the Dragon Pokémon. Dratini sheds its skin as it grows, often doing so while hidden behind large powerful waterfalls.**

_"May I have some food?"_ A shy feminine voice asked.

"She's hungry." Harry translated putting away the Pokedex.

Ireth smiled and gathered some food, "Here you go little one. Eat up."

The Dratini slowly moved onto land and near to Ireth who had made a pile of food for the new arrival. Hesitantly, she started eating, and then eating faster when she discovered how good the food tasted. After finishing, she started nuzzling Ireth's hand.

_"Thank you kind human." _

After having Harry translate Ireth replied, "You're welcome."

_"You're kind, can I travel with you?" _Surprised, the lavender eyed girl replied.

"Of course you can. Do you want to be my Pokémon?" She smiled happily when the Pokémon started nodding rapidly. Ireth touched a Pokeball to Dratini's nose and she was caught. "Sweet, I just got a Dratini, well technically she let me catch her…but you know what I mean." She laughed at her ending.

"That is cool. Well, we better get going; we're pretty close to Ventus." Harry said, recalling his Pokémon.

Ireth nodded, "Yeah, I need to go to the store anyway." She recalled her own Pokémon and the two set off again. After an hour's walk they arrived in the city, the main feature of which was all the electric windmills. "I guess they use the wind and generate their own electricity." The girl stated.

"Good idea of them, well I catch you later; I'll have Nurse Joy tell you where I am if I find the Leader." Harry suggested.

"Sure." And the two separated. Harry just wondered around, enjoying the sights and watching all the flying Pokémon everywhere. Though it did make sense since this was the Windy Town for it to have lots of Flying-Type Pokémon. Harry arrived at a little park though it was empty this time of day. He almost sat down on a bench to enjoy the silence when shouting drew his attention. At the opposite end of the park was a man dressed in a torn karate outfit with blue eyes and short blond hair battling against two familiar thugs, the Pokémon at his side was a steel-looking bird Pokémon that was silver-gray except for its red feathers, yellow eyes, and metallic-blue neck, talons, and tail. Its feet both have three toes on them; two in front and one in back, and its tail had hooked ends. It also had a pointed, triangular crest on its head and several teeth in its lower jaw. Harry brought out his Pokedex while also sending Eevee out and sneaking up on the thugs: **Skarmory, the Armor Bird Pokémon. Because Skarmory nests in briers and is constantly scratched by thorns, its wings become razor sharp. **From what Harry and Eevee could see, the thugs had ganged up on the other guy and were winning.

"Let's go Eevee, use Sand-Attack on all four of them!" Harry ordered running behind his Pokémon. Eevee whipped up globs of sand in the faces of the two thugs and their Luxio and Magmar when they turned around at Harry's voice. "You looked like you needed a hand. I'm Harry."

"Thanks kid, name's Ario." The man introduced. "You came just at the right time. Skarmory, use Steel Wing!"

"Skar!" The Pokémon took to the air and its wings began to glow white. It charged straight for the blinded Pokémon, knocking them out with one powerful attack.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack on the thugs!" Harry called, smirking when the wind was knocked out of the other two humans. The first looked up and nearly growled.

"Damn kid…you just keep getting in our way. We'll take care of you soon." He and the other returned their Pokémon and ran off into the woods.

"That takes care of that. Those two kept double-teaming Skarmory, and we couldn't get an attack in edge-wise." Ario said. He turned to Harry after making sure the Steel/Flying type was alright, "You really saved our behinds kid, you too Eevee."

Both human and Pokémon blushed, causing the other two to laugh, "We just wanted to help, it was the right thing to do."

"Nevertheless, thanks…"A thought seemed to strike Ario, who suddenly grinned."I know, here. It may come in handy." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something. In his hand was a small rope the size of a bracelet made of two strings twisted together, hanging from it was little tags Harry recognized as spiritual tags from old anime shows he used to watch as a child, when the Dursleys let him that is.

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously taking it from Ario.

"That my new friend is a Spirit-tag Charm, good for Ghost and Psychic type Pokémon. Not sure what else it can be used for though. A strange blond girl with silver eyes gave it to me awhile ago, said to keep it until the time felt right." Ario said. "She had the oddest way of speaking…" He trailed off with a strange look on his face.

"Cool, what do you think Eevee?" Harry asked, holding out the item for his Pokémon to examine. Eevee started sniffing it curiously and then touched it. Both item and Pokémon started to glow, the first vanishing into an orb of light only to be absorbed by the other. "Eevee?" Harry asked startled.

The two humans watched the glowing Pokémon jump to the ground and started changing shape, becoming large enough for Harry to rest his hand on the Pokémon's head. When the light finally died down, the two stared at the new Pokémon. His sleek fur was a dark purple, almost black color, with silver mist around his paws and on the end of his tail. Pupil-less silver eyes watched them, long cat-like ears flicking back and forth. Around his neck was the charm like a collar. Speechless, Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Medieon, the Medium Pokémon. Medieon is the newest discovered evolution of Eevee, being a Ghost and Psychic type. Not much is known about this Pokémon other than its abilities to contact the spiritual world. **

"Medieon…"_"That felt really weird."_ Medieon said, his voice now had an echo-y quality to it. _"I feel stronger now."_

"You look a lot stronger Ee-, I mean Medieon." Harry said, laughing. "That'll take a little while to get used to."

"Incredible, I've never seen a Medieon before." Ario stated, walking around the newly evolved Pokémon. "Medieon looks in great shape; you have a fine Pokémon lad."

"Thanks Ario. By the way, do you know where the Gym is? My friend and I are hoping to battle the Gym Leader." Harry said, returning Medieon. Ario smirked.

"Harry, it's your lucky day. I'm the Gym Leader, and I accept your challenge." He started laughing at Harry's shocked look.

"How is it that I always find the Leaders? Some sort of higher power controlling my every move?" Harry mused to himself. "Thanks Ario, though I need to find my friend before we can battle, I said I'd have Nurse Joy tell her."

"Sure kid, you can call the Center from the Gym." Ario said, starting off back towards town. The two soon found themselves in the Ventus Gym, which had no roof, perfect for Ario's Flying Pokémon.

After having the older male show him where the phone was, Harry called the Center. Nurse Joy though, said Ireth hadn't been in there yet but she would be sure to tell her where Harry was. Harry thanked her and hung up. Turning around he was surprised to see Ario in the middle of the Gym practicing his martial arts.

"Hey kid, when's your friend gonna show up?" Ario asked, flipping around.

"Not sure, she must still be wandering around. Nurse Joy said Ireth hasn't been in the Pokémon Center yet." Harry answered, watching Ario now do some impressive kicks.

Ario noticed Harry studying his moves, "Wanna learn? Not that hard once you get the basics down." He grinned when the teen's eyes lit up and he nodded. "Alright, here's the first set of moves…."

"Sorry I'm late!" Ireth said, walking into the Gym. It had taken her much longer than she had thought to pick up all their supplies. She had gotten Harry's message four hours after he had given it. She stopped and just stared at the cute scene in front of her. Ario and Harry were out cold on the floor, Harry snuggled up to the older one with Ario having his arm around Harry in a brotherly way. "That is just too cute. Too bad I don't have a camera; this would have been good blackmail later." She smirked. "Kirlia, come on out, I need you to carry these two to Ario's living area." It took Ireth nearly fifteen minutes to get the two situated on the floor, the only place large enough for the two to continue their brotherly cuddling, while she took the couch beside them.

The next morning found everyone awake and bright-eyed, thanks to a hearty breakfast made by Harry, standing at different ends of the Gym.

"This is a two on two battle; first side to have their Pokémon knocked out will lose!" The referee said. Harry had a random thought, and wondered if the referee was following them, or if he had dozens of family members like Nurse Joy did and that they all looked the same.

"Skarmory and Swellow, let's do this!" Ario said, sending his Pokémon skyward. Skarmory flew around the other bird Pokémon. It had brilliant blue with contrasting red breast feathers and face. There was a crest of blue feathers extending from their head, a vertical stripe of blue extending onto their red-colored chest, and a white coloration on the underside of their belly and wing feathers. It also had sharply shaped wings and red-tipped tail feathers. It also possessed red feet that are armed with talons. Harry's Pokedex said: **Swellow, the Swallow Pokémon. Swellow uses its impressive dive-bomber speed and its large talons to capture its prey.**

"Dratini, let's go!"

"Medieon, show everyone what you got!" After the two Pokémon appeared, Ireth turned to Harry.

"Is that Eevee?" Nod. "Man! I miss all the good stuff! First the Egg, now this!" Harry just started snickering at her.

"Begin!"

"Medieon, use Shadow Ball!" Opening his mouth, Medieon shot out what looked like a misty black darkness straight at Skarmory, who dodged though the attack did clip its wing.

"Dratini use Thunder Wave, followed by Dragon Rage!" Out of Dratini's mouth were faint waves of electricity which hit Swellow, stunning it in mid-air. Then it was hit by a large red-orange fire ball, singeing its feathers.

"Swellow! Try to shake it off!" Ario called, watching the Pokémon. Swellow though, couldn't get its wings to flap correctly thanks to being paralyzed by Thunder Wave and crashed into the ground, out cold. "Skarmory, it's all up to you. Use Air Slash!" The Steel type started flying around in high speed circles, creating an air-stream. It suddenly changed course, flying straight at Dratini, and suddenly stopped. The stream though it created continued straight at the Dragon type, hitting it dead on.

"Dratini! Are you alright?" Ireth called, worried for her newest Pokémon. Dratini shook her head to clear it, and then nodded at her Trainer.

"Medieon, any thoughts?" Harry murmured to his Pokémon.

_"Well, there is this attack I wanna try…"_ Medieon whispered something to his Trainer, who grinned.

"Let's try it. Medieon, use Spirit Call!" The Pokémon's silver eyes began to glow, the tags on his collar lifting into the air. From them shot four feline-like spirits, red, yellow, blue, and black. They each shot at Skarmory, evaporating into fire, lightning, water, and darkness respectively. Weakened by the onslaught, Skarmory collapsed to the ground.

"The winners are the challengers!" The referee said. Ario smiled at the victory dancing teens, Medieon standing in the middle with an almost smug look on his face.

"Incredible match you two, I've never been trounced so thoroughly before. What was that last attack?"

Harry grinned, thanking Medieon who had told him, "Spirit Call. Depending on how strong a Medieon is, a certain number of cat-like spirits will appear from the tags around its neck, each one a different element every time."

"Fascinating, well, you two deserve this, the Wind Badge." Ario handed the two silver swirl badges. "Keep up your training Harry; it'll help in the long run."

"Thanks Ario." Harry said. The two were seen off by the Gym Leader, happily talking about their newest battle. They didn't notice that they were being watched from the shadows.


	11. Chapter 11

A few hours later found the duo resting beside a broad, peaceful river, sunlight filtering through the trees they were resting under. Their Pokémon were around them, playing together, resting, or chowing down on some fruit Absol shook down from the trees.

"This was a great idea, just taking a break from traveling." Ireth commented, leaning back with her eyes closed.

"Thank Medieon, he suggested it." Harry snickered, feeding Vulpix. The little Fire-type had moved up from formula to soft PokeFood. "Though we need to take a break now and then, the League doesn't start for another few months, we can slow down our pace."

"How's your meditation exercise coming along?" Ireth asked, gazing at the other teen. "I haven't heard you during the night, so the nightmares must be calming down."

Harry nodded, wiping Vulpix's muzzle. "Yeah, it's helped tons. My mind doesn't feel….cluttered you could say, anymore. And I've been adding to my barriers whenever we meet new Pokémon." Ireth nodded, happy for her friend.

"Magikarp, be careful." Ireth said, staring at the Water-type that was flopping around in the shallow water.

"It isn't the Pokémon that needs to be careful brats."

The two whipped around at the new, cold voice. It sent shivers down their spines. Suddenly, the area was filled with dozens of Luxio and Magmar, way too many to battle. Behind them were the thugs they have been running into, a few carrying whips that glowed with a demonic red light. They parted and a man in his late fifties walked forward. He was dressed in a black stripped business suit, had slick brown hair and the blackest eyes Harry had ever seen, they made Snape's look like they were filled with laughter and joy. With a jerk of his head the thugs and Pokémon rounded them all up in a tight circle, the Pokémon getting either burnt or shocked by the enemy Pokémon. Ireth whimpered when one thug actually kicked her Magikarp into the middle of the river.

"You kids have been a thorn in my side, ruining all my careful planning." He continued.

Harry stood tall, passing a shaking Vulpix to Ireth and standing protectively in front of them, "Who do you think you are?" He demanded.

"Be quiet, you are in no position to demand anything of me. But since you all won't leave this area alive, I guess I can tell you. My name is Garm Kesorir, owner of Kesorir Inc. and leader of Team Quasso; some of its members surround you now." He gestured at them with his hand.

"What is it you are trying to do, and what exactly is Team Quasso?" Ireth asked. Harry wasn't sure if she was trying to buy them some time or she really did want to know.

"Very good question. You see those lovely plasma whips? They are the crown jewel of my company, they are used to train Pokémon into behaving, and not even the strongest Pokémon is too much for us."

"Training? You torture Pokémon with those!" Harry yelled outraged. "I've seen what they can do! You people are monsters."

Kesorir merely chuckled, raising a hand, "There's no need for such name calling, besides. You really want those as your last words?" He chuckled again when he saw the murderous looks he was receiving. "I guess you do. Farewell you impudent-"

He was cut off by a thundering roar. Everyone, human and Pokémon alike, turned their heads to the river, where suddenly a large Pokémon that vaguely reminded Harry of dragons seen in Chinese mythology. Its serpentine body is mostly magenta, but its underbelly was white, as well as the spots along its body. It had a three-pointed, dark purple crest on its head and four white fins down its back. Its mouth is very large and gaping, bearing four canine teeth. As it roared again, Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. This Pokémon is the evolved form of Magikarp. It has a vicious temperament, so use extreme caution. Its fangs can crush stones and its scales are harder than steel.**

"It's my Magikarp, she evolved!" Ireth said excitedly. "Gyarados! Get rid of these thugs!"

Gyarados roared again, which Harry thought she said, _"With pleasure"_ and slapped her tail on the water, causing it to rise quickly. It swarmed onto dry land, completely missing Harry and company, sweeping the thugs screaming away into the woods.

"You haven't seen the last of us!" Kesorir screamed, sending chills down their spines before being washed out of sight.

"Great job Gyarados." Ireth said, petting the side of her newly evolved Pokémon. "You saved us."

_"It was my pleasure."_ Gyarados said, enjoying the caress from her Trainer.

"Ireth, we got to get the Pokémon to the Center, they were hurt by those Quasso Pokémon and the plasma whips. Plus I need to tell Oak and Giovanni about what we found out." Harry said, returning all of his Pokémon. As Ireth did the same he added, "Great job finding out all that stuff. Was that on purpose or were you trying to prolong our end?" The two took off at a fast job to reach Fulmen.

"I wanted to see if bad guys, given the right prompt, will actually rant. Turns out I was right."

They reached Fulmen in record time and headed straight for the Center, giving a concerned Nurse Joy their Pokémon. While Ireth went to grab them a quick snack Harry headed to the video phones. Hoping that Giovanni was with Oak, he called the Pokémon Professor first.

"Harry! How are you lad…what's wrong? You seemed very flustered?" Oak asked concern lacing his features.

"I'll explain, first is Giovanni with you?" Harry asked.

"No…one second. I'll connect with him; I was just discussing you with him on the other line. He's been very worried about you." Oak said with a small smile, his image on the screen splitting to show the Rocket Boss in his office.

"Harry? What's the matter?" Giovanni asked concerned, Persian moving into the screen with him.

"I found out quite a bit about the thugs I told you about with the whips, thanks to Ireth." He started and began explaining everything that had happened in the clearing leaving nothing out.

"I've heard of Kesorir Inc. and none of it good. I'll get my people on it right away Harry." Giovanni said, frowning.

"On another note, please tell Ireth congratulations on having her Magikarp evolve, and such an interesting color as well." Oak said, ever the Professor. Harry grinned as the older man continued, "Also congratulations on your recent victories, you two are becoming quite popular I hear. You haven't lost a battle yet."

The two men laughed as Harry blushed to the roots of his hair, "Yeah…well…I gotta go." He said lamely, ending the call, the ring of the continued laughter echoing in his ears. "Why is my embarrassment always an enjoyment for others?" He wondered out loud.

"Because it's adorable when you blush." Ireth's voice said behind him, turning to laughter when Harry blushed again. "Nurse Joy said that checking all of our Pokémon will take some time, she wants to be sure everything checks out, so we have time to resupply before we can pick them up."

"Alright, let's go shopping…" Harry gave a melodramatic sigh at this thought, snickering at the look his friend gave him.

"Just for that, you're carrying everything." Ireth said. It was her turn to snicker at the look Harry gave her in return. "Revenge is sweet."

Arriving at the shopping center, Ireth suggested that they split up to get everything they needed. She had made a list with a lot of extra things, including Burn Heals, salves, and bandages, her excuse being 'We've been running into these Quasso creeps all the time, with their type of Pokémon, this stuff will really help if we can't get to a Center.' So now Harry was walking up and down aisles, grabbing everything he needed to get, grumbling about 'evil shopping obsessed girls' when he ran into a solid mass.

"Oh man, sorry kid." A voice said concerned. Harry looked up to see a dark skinned man in his late twenties with short light brown hair, kind light blue eyes and wearing a yellow tank top, black jeans and combat boots holding out a hand to help him up. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Sorry sir neither was I." Harry said, taking the offered hand and helping the other pick up his purchases.

The man laughed, "Now none of that 'sir' business. Name's Bolt." He held out a hand with a grin.

"I'm Harry," The emerald eyed teen said, grinning as well. A thought struck him and he stared at the other. "Sorry if I'm wrong about this, but I seem to have the weirdest luck, are you by chance, the Gym Leader here?"

Bolt seemed surprised, "Yeah I am, good guess kid. How'd you know?"

Harry sighed, "I seem to have this strange ability of finding the Gym Leader of a town before my friend and battle partner does."

The blue-eyed man laughed, "Really? You'll have to tell me about it sometime." He glanced at his wrist watch his eyes widened, "Oh man, I'm gonna be late…"

Harry watched the now frantic man run to the counter to by his items. Following him and getting his bought by the other checker, Harry asked, "May I ask what's wrong?"

Bolt gave a sigh, "My younger siblings' eighth birthday is today, I wanted to surprise them with a party, but I'm running late. I hope you and your friend won't mind waiting until tomorrow to battle, I just got too much to do today."

As their items were placed in bags, Harry's natural 'help-people' instincts kicked in, "Is there anything Ireth or I can do to help? We're not in a hurry to battle you." Bolt eyed him, surprised by the offer.

"Really? You'll help? That would be a big help in getting everything ready, the triplets will be home in a few hours and I wanted the Gym set up all nice." The teen grinned.

"We'll help, no problem…well I will anyway. I'm sure Ireth will too." Bolt nodded happily and the two gathered their things. It took no time to find Ireth, and once explaining the situation to her, she agreed readily, excited at the idea of a party. The trio made their way to the Fulmen Gym, past the main area that was just dirt with large rocks for some cover, into the back living area large enough for a nice party.

Entering the kitchen they began taking out the gifts they had gotten for the birthday kids when Bolt said, "Uh oh…"

"Now that's a word you don't want to hear on a birthday, what's wrong?" The lavender eyed teen asked.

"I forgot to pick up some food for the party, as well as a cake. There's no time to go and get some from the store…" Bolt said, frowning worriedly. Ireth turned to Harry, who just rolled his eyes and sleeves.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. Bolt you go and get the area fixed up for a party, wrap the presents, get the decorations, etc. Ireth, you go and get our Pokémon and then come back to help Bolt; distract the kids if they get here early. I'll take care of everything else."

While Harry started moving about the kitchen, Ireth nudged Bolt out, saying, "Harry's a pro at cooking on the fly. The kids will love what he makes; now he gave us jobs to do."

For two hours Harry cooked up a feast of popcorn chicken, macaroni, fruit salads, and a layered marble cake. While he was working masterpieces in the kitchen, Bolt and then Ireth started fixing up the dining room with streamers, balloons, the whole nine yards.

The silence of their work was broken when they heard three voices chorus, "Big Brother!" Bolt was tackled to the ground by three dark blurs. Ireth started laughing at the look on Bolt's face on the ground.

"Ian, Oracia and Jade could you please get up?" Bolt wheezed out. Laughing, the two girls and boy got off and Ireth finally got a good look at them. All three had the same eyes and hair color as Bolt, with Ian having the same hair style while the girls each had a pony tail. Ian wore a black T-shirt with yellow shorts and sandals, one girl wore a yellow sundress with black daisies while the other wore a black dress with yellow daisies. "Ireth, I would like you to meet Ian, Oracia" He pointed to the yellow dressed girl, "And Jade." The black dressed girl. "Kids this is Ireth. She and her friend Harry have been helping me with your special day. The two of them are Trainers hoping to battle me later."

At these words the three hyper children gathered around Ireth, firing questions at a random pace. While she tried her best to follow and answer them, she was 'saved' by Harry walking though the kitchen door, saying,

"Lunch is ready! Cake afterwards" He added, seeing the kids' eyes light up and then fall comically.

Twenty minutes later and much compliment giving by the four family members, Harry brought out a beautiful looking cake with eight candles, "Now blow them out and make a wish you three." The triplets shared a hurried whisper and then blew out the candles together, having the older ones clap enthusiastically.

While they enjoyed the cake and were watching the kids unwrap their gifts, Bolt asked, "What did you three wish for?"

"We wished to see you battle today Big Brother." They chorused, looking up at him.

At a loss for words, he turned to the two teens.

"That's fine by us; we could do it after we finish the cake." Harry said, Ireth nodding mouth full of the dessert. Everyone grinned when the kids started cheering and running around them happily.

A half an hour later found everyone in the gym, the kids still eating their cake and each cheering for one of the Trainers. Before they had separated to go to the ends of the gym, the three had decided to try to make it as flashy as they could for the kids.

"This will be a two on two battle; first side to have their Pokémon knocked out loses!" The referee said. Harry was started to get creeped out by the guy, always looking exactly the same.

"Come on Dratini!"

"Vulpix I choose you!"

"Raichu and Electrike, let's go!"

Bolt's Pokémon both had sparks emitting from their bodies. The first reminded Harry of a large rodent with long brown and yellow ears and feet but stubby brown arms, on its face was two yellow circles. It had two horizontal brown stripes on its back, its fur being a yellow-orange with a yellow belly. Its tail was very long, slender and black, the end being a yellow lightning bolt. Harry's Pokedex said:** Raichu, a Mouse Pokémon of the Electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious.**

He pointed it to the second Pokémon, a small, green, dog-like Pokémon with yellow markings. **Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow.**

"Let's start off with Dragon Rage Dratini!" Ireth ordered. Dratini let out a fierce growl (though it just sounded cute to the humans) and let loose a red-orange fire ball at Raichu.

"Vulpix, use Fire Spin!" Harry said, watching as Vulpix breathed a stream of fire that started to spiral towards Electrike.

"Raichu, Electrike! Both of you dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Bolt commanded. Raichu, being the faster of the two, managed to dodge and fire its attack at the Dragon-type, who was paralyzed by the powerful voltage. Electrike on the other hand, couldn't dodge the fire attack, and was swallowed by a tornado of fire.

"Electrike!" Bolt yelled, dismayed. He breathed a sigh of relief when the Electric type emerged from the attack, though it did have its affect on it. "Use Tackle! If we're going down, we'll take them with us!" Giving a nod at its Trainer, Electrike made a bee-line for Vulpix. The Fire-type was surprised by the swiftness and though she tried to dodge, she couldn't make it in time. Both collided with each other and rolled around. When they stopped, both were knocked out.

After Harry and Bolt recalled their Pokémon, Ireth turned to her Dratini, "Come on sweetie, it's all up to you. I know you can do it!" Dratini raised her head towards her Trainer, a determined glint in her eyes. All of a sudden, the sparks that had been dancing around the Pokémon's body vanished, leaving her completely healed of Paralyzation.

"What was that?" Ireth wondered.

"That would be Shed Skin. A Pokémon will shed its skin, getting rid of any status changes like Paralyzation or Burn." Bolt explained, watching Dratini raise up. All of a sudden, she was surrounded by a white glow. Everyone present watched as the glow changed shape and size, eventually disappearing. A sapphire-blue serpentine Pokémon remained, with dark glossy eyes and a small unicorn horn on her head. On either side of her head were small feathery wings, and on the end of her tail and under her neck were small blue orbs.

"That's…a Dragonair." Ireth breathed, awed by her Pokémon.

Harry brought his Pokedex: **Dragonair, the Dragon Pokémon. Dragonair has the ability to manipulate the elements as it wishes.**

Ireth suddenly smirked, "We got this in the bag. Dragonair, use Dragon Rush!" Dragonair launched herself like a missile at Raichu, who was surprised by the speed of the attack. It hit dead on, knocking the poor Electric-type out.

"The winners are Harry and Ireth!" The referee said. Cheers came from the sidelines as Bolt's younger siblings started to make their way towards the trio of Trainers. As they came nearer, Bolt and Ireth had returned their Pokémon and the two challengers were having a small victory dance to celebrate.

"That was incredible! How Vulpix did that tornado of fire…" Ian started.

"And how Dratini used those cool flames…" Oracia went next.

"And then how she evolved!" Jade added.

And together they finished, "This was the best birthday present ever!" Bolt laughed, his eyes shining in happiness from the excited looks on the triplets faces. He turned to the duo.

"I have you two to thank for making their special day one they'll never forget. I present you with the Lightning Badge." He handed the two their badge, shaped like thunderbolts and grinned again when they did victory poses. He then did mock-shooing motions, "Off with you two, to Venenum! You'd better beat Toxica and the rest, because I'll be cheering you on in the League."

The two just grinned and ran out of the Gym, the laughter of children following them out.

Giovanni sat back in his chair, an evil yet satisfied smirk on his face as he stared at his computer. At a questioning mewl from Persian, he explained,

"I've set my people to start buying everything related to Kesorir Inc. and I'm now the new owner of it. Though Team Quasso is still a large threat, and my Rockets haven't found Kesorir, I don't want him anywhere near Harry."

He started petting Persian, who was letting out satisfied purrs that matched her Trainers mood. His thoughts turned to a certain emerald eyed Trainer.

"That child has turned my world around and upside down for the better, along with this company. There's just something about him that draws everyone in and makes you love him, just like I do... Persian, do you think I should ask Harry if I could adopt him?" He chuckled when his Pokémon started purring enthusiastically. "Very well, I'll ask soon. I think Delilah knows a little about his past, I'll need to speak to her soon."


	12. Chapter 12

"Wow, this is a weird place." Ireth commented as she and Harry entered Venenum. The way to the city was uneventful; they basically enjoyed the changing views to a dark forest filled with Poison-type Pokémon. They had seen some awesome ones, though neither felt the need to capture any of them. The city itself was dedicated to medical purposes, mainly involving antidotes. This made sense with all the different types of poison not only from the surrounding Pokémon, but also from the wilderness itself. Harry had recognized different types of poisonous plants, and some he suspected were different strands of them.

"Let's head to the Gym, since we didn't battle or anything, our Pokémon are in top shape." Harry suggests. Ireth nodded to this and the two set off. After getting directions from a nice old lady (who gave Harry the creeps because she wouldn't stop gushing about his eyes) they headed towards the Gym, the lavender eyed girl still laughing at the other's misfortune. "It's not my fault I have green eyes." Harry muttered.

"Those aren't green, they're emerald!" Ireth laughed. The black haired teen just sent her a weak glare and started walking faster. The Gym rose up before them, with the referee standing in front of it.

"Do you think that the Gym referee's are like the Joy's and Jenny's? With multiple relatives that all look the same?" Harry asked, getting irked with the referee.

"Personally, I think it was a cloning gone wrong." Ireth commented quietly, snickering.

"Hello, are you here for a battle? I'm sorry to say that Toxica has left for the day and I don't know when she'll be back." He said apologetically.

"Alright, I guess we'll just have to check by later. Thanks anyway." Harry said, and then he and Ireth turned around and started walking. "Alright, since we can't battle, what do you think we should do?"

"Well, I gotta go to the store for a surprise." Ireth said with a grin. "And no, you can't come." She laughed at his look before taking off.

Harry just shook his head and headed in the direction of the park he saw as they were walking in. "Why is it that I always pick the weirdest but well-meaning friends?" He asked himself. The walk there was alright, though Harry kept getting the feeling he was being watched, but every time he turned around, there was no one around. '_That's just creepy.'_ He thought, picking up the pace. The park was blissfully empty when he arrived, so he let out all his Pokémon to relax. Medieon stretched out in a patch of sunshine, while Vulpix started running around, either chasing her own tails, chasing Snivy or playing 'climb-all-over-Absol', who seemed to find the whole thing amusing and let the young Pokémon play.

Shaking his head at them, Harry started practicing the stances Ario taught him, moving up to sparring with an invisible opponent. He continued this for a few minutes when the peace of the park was interrupted by a woman jumping out of the trees. Landing near him, Harry saw that she wore a slender purple ninja –like outfit. Her floor length hair was a bright light green tied just at the very bottom and when she looked up, her eyes matched her hair.

"Hey kiddo! Those moves are the signature of Ario's, though the tweaks you've done to them are impressive, more suited to someone your size." Her voice was a mixture of laughter and sternness, if that was even possible. Done with studying his stance, she finally looked Harry in the face, and anime squealed. "Oh my gosh! Your eyes are to die for! You look so cute! Kawaii!" She grabbed him in a hug, still gushing about how cute he was.

Mortified, Harry called to his Pokémon, "Are you going to stand there while I'm being attacked?"

Each one looked at him and replied, _"Never mess with a fan-girl. You're on your own."_

"Thanks for the love guys…" Harry muttered, promising revenge later on…as soon as he freed himself.

"Now…down to business. You got Ario's style down pretty good, but he's pre-school compared to me!" The lady said, finally releasing Harry. "He's more into directly attacking your opponent, but true strength comes from using your opponent's strength against them."

"Cool, I never thought of it like that before…"Harry said awed.

The green-haired woman grinned, "Yup! And I'm here to teach ya! What's your name by the way?"

Blushing at realizing he hadn't introduced himself, the emerald eyed teen answered, "I'm Harry. My friend Ireth and I came here to challenge the Gym Leader, but she was out. We split up to see the sights and try to challenge her later, as well as to discover the mystery of the referee. I think it's something like the Jenny's and Joy's, Ireth bets on messed up cloning."

The woman blinked, and then laughed, "I like you kid! Name's Toxica, Gym Leader and Poison-type Expert."

Harry sighed, with a wry grin, "How did I know you were going to say that? I swear, either I have the weirdest luck, or someone, somewhere, is getting a kick out of this."

"Enough chatter! Train now!" Toxica said, and she started showing Harry her style of martial arts. The two spent several hours training, Harry quickly mastering everything the woman showed him, to which she praised highly.

The peace was disturbed again by a scream of, "There he is!"

"The darling cutie with the gorgeous eyes!"

"Come here sweetie!"

Dread building in their stomachs, the two turned towards the other end of the park, where they saw a stampede of….fan girls!

"Oh crap…. I'm doomed" Harry whispered, eyes wide with terror.

"Oh no you're not." Toxica said. Quickly, she grabbed the teen, threw him over his shoulder, and headed in the direction of the Gym, Harry's Pokémon following closely. "HE'S MINE! YOU HEAR ME! I FOUND HIM FIRST!" The ninja woman yelled over her shoulder at the women chasing them. Thankfully, the doors were open to the Gym. The second they were through, Medieon and Absol closed them. On the other side, they heard repeated banging and screaming, though the actual words were muffled.

"Thanks for saving me…I think." Harry said, heart pounding.

"Don't mention it kid, now, since we can't go out, how about that battle?"

Emerald eyes lit up, "Really? But Ireth isn't here, and there's no way in the entire world I'm going back out there to find her." And idea sparked in his mind and he turned to Absol. "Would you mind going to find Ireth and bring her here?"

_"Sure thing."_ Absol said with a laughing tone. Nimbly, she jumped out of one of the upper windows of the Gym. About ten minutes later, the Dark-type jumped back in, with a grinning Ireth on her back.

"That was a blast. You know there's an army of women with banners of you outside the doors right?" She said, turning to Harry. She and Toxica started snickering when the boy started banging his head on the nearest wall.

"Well, since you're finally here, how about that battle to pass the time?" Toxica suggested, already walking to the other side of the Gym.

Ireth and Harry nodded, already taking their spots. "Fine by me, as long as we can finish before the evil fan girls show up." The emerald eyed teen said, shuddering at the thought of the women getting to him.

"Ah…poor Harry, traumatized by his adoring fans!" Ireth teased, laughing when Harry glared at her.

Toxica just laughed at the two's banter. "Come on kids, battle time! Roselia and Nidoqueen, come on out!"

"Snivy, show 'em what you got!"

"Kirlia, kick their butts!"

The first Pokémon was a large, blue Pokémon with both mammalian and reptilian features. She had a thick tail and mouse-like ears with spikes running down the length of her back and has a horn on her forehead. Her lower-jaw, chest-plates and lower torso are cream-colored. Harry's Pokedex said: **Nidoqueen, the Drill Pokémon. Nidoqueen has thick skin covering its entire body, protecting it from whatever techniques are used against it.**

The second Pokémon was a small Pokémon with a light green body with a leaf skirt and holding a rose on each of her hands, a red one in her right and a blue one in her left. She has leaves extending from her shoulders like epaulettes, and a pointed streak of yellow extends from her neck down the forefront of her leaf skirt. Visible from the back is a small stretch of yellow coloration around her neck much like a collar. She also had three horns on the top of her head. **Roselia, the Thorn Pokémon. Roselia's aroma can bring serenity, but the thorns on its head contain a vicious poison.**

"Roselia and Nidoqueen, use Poison Sting!" Toxica called out the first attacks. The Drill and Thorn Pokémon launched the poison needles at the Emotion and Shellfish Pokémon.

"Kirlia, use Teleport and then Confusion!"

"Snivy, dodge and use Vinewhip!"

In a flash of light Kirlia vanished, while Snivy disappeared in a teal flash. Just in time too, for the poison attack just landed. The Poison-types were stunned for a second, and that was all the challengers needed. Nidoqueen found herself floating up in the air, while Roselia got knocked down by the little but powerful Grass type. Kirlia then threw the larger Pokémon straight at the smaller, effectively knocking them both out.

"And the winners are Harry and Ireth!" The referee yelled.

The two teens blinked, "We won? Wow that was fast." Ireth said to her friend. "Kinda anti-climatic don't you think? I mean…seriously. That had to be a record or something."

"Where the heck was that guy? He just popped out of nowhere…" A confused Harry mumbled, absently returning his Pokémon and staring at the referee.

Toxica meanwhile, was laughing her ass off at the expression on the two's faces. "Man, you should see yourselves!" She managed to say. "I also think that you two set the record for the quickest battle here, good job! Now, you two earned these." The Gym Leader handed them their Badges, which were in the shape of a skull and crossbones. When they looked up at her for an explanation, she shrugged, "Can you think of any symbol that 'Poison' could go with? Neither could I. Now, onto more important business, your next battle is against Spectra, the Ghost Queen, on Phasma Island. But here's the catch, there's this weird fog all around the area that prevents any boats from going near the island, so you'll have to either swim or fly to get there."

"Not a problem!" Ireth grinned. "My Gyarados can get us there easily."

Toxica grinned, "Well then, good luck. And I expect to see you at the League!" She picked the two up and tossed them out the window, landing them in a pile of limbs.

"She's crazy…" Harry grumbled, getting back up.

"Yeah, but she's also awesome." Ireth added, heading for the exit of the city. Since it was such a nice day, they decided to let all of their Pokémon out to stretch their legs (or whatever it is that they had) as they headed for the coast. As they walked, Harry was busy fiddling with his Badges while Vulpix happy chewed on his hair. Snivy was on his shoulder just enjoying the view.

"Man, I have too many Badges now, can't keep them in my pocket any more otherwise they might fall out."

"I know what you mean, so what do you suggest we do?"

The emerald eyed teen thought for a second, staring at the Badges. Suddenly, if there could have been, a light bulb appeared over his head. "I got it." He started to attach the Badges to the bracelet he always wore, the one the three Rockets gave him at the start of his journey. "There we go; what about you Ireth?" He glanced over to see the girl fiddling with the band she wore around her head. She was attaching the Badges that that.

"Practical yet functional." She laughed, placing back around her head.

Continuing the peaceful walk, a sudden thought struck Harry. "Hey, are you going to tell me what that surprise of yours is yet?"

Ireth blinked, and then laughed, "I completely forgot about that! Here you go, found it in one of the shops, got it for a bargain if I say so myself." Reaching into one of her pockets, she proudly gave Harry something. Taking a closer look, he saw it was a Fire Stone.

"Why in the world did you get this?"

"Thought it looked pretty cool…whoa!"

She reached forward to try to grab Vulpix, who had been trying to get a closer look at the stone but slid down Harry's arm and touched the stone.

Everyone stopped walking as a now glowing Vulpix jumped to the ground and began changing shape. There in her place, was a beautiful nine tailed fox with bright turquoise eyes. Her fur was a gleaming snow white and when the light hit it just right you could see ice blue accents. The tips of her tails, paws, and tuff of hair was a dark but rich blue and her underbelly was a light cream color, just a shade darker than the rest of her pelt.

"Wow, you're beautiful." Harry breathed. As Ireth was petting the fox, Harry brought out his Pokedex: **Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon. Ninetales is the evolved form of Vulpix. Each of its tails contains a different mystical power.**

_"Papa, I feel powerful now."_ Ninetales' voice had an echo-y quality to it, hinting at the power within.

"I believe you my dear, I believe you." Harry grinned at his 'daughter'.

The group was about twenty minutes outside Venenum when they heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting. The two share a look and sighed.

"Why can't we just have a nice stroll to the coast?" Harry mock-groaned, already running in the direction of the noise.

"Your luck sucks like that my friend." Ireth teased, keeping up easily.

"My luck? What about you?"

"Are you kidding me? Everything weird that's happened has been cause of you, so it's your luck!" Ireth laughed at the stumped look on the teen's face.

The two quieted as they reached the source of the commotion. Hiding in some bushes, they decided to see what they were up against, and boy they were shocked.

In the middle of a large clearing were two groups facing off, Pokémon at the ready. On the right was Jesse, James and Meowth, along with several Rocket Grunts behind them. Every single one of them was glaring at the figures at the other end. A woman with orange hair in two low pigtails and a guy with greenish hair were sneering; both were wearing black Rocket uniforms. Beside the guy was a Raticate, growling and by the girl was a Houndour. What shocked the two most was the tied-up figure behind the two.

"Isn't that Giovanni? The Rocket Boss?" Ireth whispered.

"Yeah, but what the heck is going on?" Harry whispered back. He didn't have to wait long to get the answer.

"Let Giovanni go and maybe we'll take it easy on you!" Jesse called out, eyes glaring at the girl.

"Fat chance Jesse. With Giovanni out of the way, we'll turn Team Rocket back into what it once was, a feared power in this world! Our 'Boss' has gone soft, ordering us to only steal miserable and sad Pokémon." The girl sneered.

The guy went next, "Why don't you give up? Maybe we'll let you stay in a member in our organization."

James growled, "Fat chance 'Bob'."

'Bob' fell anime style, and then was back on his feet in a rage, "My name is BUTCH! B-U-T-C-H! Tell them Cassidy!"

Cassidy barely glanced in his direction, "Whatever you say 'Bill'." Butch just started to pull at his hair. "Now, to get rid of you…" She said, turning to a tussled Giovanni.

"I've heard enough." Ireth said, grabbing a Pokeball.

"Me too, I'll get Gio, can you distract Tweedle Dumb and Dumber?" Harry asked.

"They won't know what hit them."

As one, they burst through the bushes and threw their Pokeballs, startling everyone in the clearing.

"Riolu! Use Aura Sphere on Houndour and Raticate!"

"Snivy, use VineWhip and grab Giovanni!"

The Grass type extended his vines and grabbed the Rocket Leader just time. Not even a second later, a large bluish ball of energy slammed into Butch and Cassidy, along with their Pokémon.

"Harry! Ireth!" The Rocket Trio called out happily. Harry was passed around for hugs while the Rocket grunts helped their Boss out of his bindings. Ireth was happily keeping the others at bay with Snivy and Riolu. "You came at the perfect time kid." Jesse said with a grin.

"Indeed you did Harry, I'm indebted to you." Giovanni said with a small smile. He surprised his Rockets by pulling the teen in a hug, which was happily returned.

"Don't mention it. By the way, where's Persian?" The emerald eyed teen asked.

"In her Pokeball, resting. She put up a great fight to protect me, but they knocked her out." Giovanni answered.

"Hey Harry! I hate to break up the bonding fest going on, but I could use some help!" Ireth called out.

Grinning sheepishly, Harry said, "Sorry gotta go help Ireth kick some butt."

"Go get 'em kid!" Meowth cheered.

Harry ran up to stand beside the lavender-eyed girl and stared at the scene before him. Snivy and Riolu were unharmed, but were panting slightly. Raticate and Houndour had more injuries, but they weren't panting at all.

"Give it up! You'll never beat 'Ritch' and Cassidy!" The orange haired woman gloated, ignoring her teammates 'My name is BUTCH!'

The duo shared a smirk. "Let's knock them out in one move. That should knock them down a peg or two." Ireth suggested.

"Great minds think alike."

"Riolu, use Force Palm!"

"Snivy, get 'em with Leaf Tornado!"

As one, the two Pokémon blurred out of sight. Butch and Cassidy didn't even have time to order their Pokémon to dodge when the attacks hit. Houndour was knocked out by the powerful glowing punch from the Aura Pokémon, while Raticate was lost to the sea of leaves surrounding him.

"You lose." Harry said coldly, reminding everyone of a certain Boss.

Butch and Cassidy gulped, returning their Pokémon. "Well…would you look at the time? We'd better…" They didn't even finish the sentence when they tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped by Absol, Ninetales, Gyarados and Dragonair.

"You were saying?" Ireth asked with a smirk. She turned to the grunts, "Tie 'em up nice and tight guys."

As the grunts were being tied up, everyone froze when Snivy was surrounded by a white light. After the light faded, everyone took in the new Pokémon. At first glance, it just looked like a larger version of Snivy, but there were differences. He had a yellow collar-like structure that started at the chest and proceeded behind the shoulders. He also had three palmate leaves growing along his back and tail. The Pokémon had four short limbs and a small crest protruding from the back of his head. His eyes were narrow, red and had an almost sneering face. Ireth's Pokedex said: **Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon. It moves along the ground as if sliding. Its swift movements befuddle its foes, and it then attacks with a vine whip**.

_"Wow, this feels weird."_ Servine commented, looking at himself.

Harry just grinned at the Grass type, "I'm sure it does, why don't you take a long rest? You battled hard and great." Harry returned his Pokémon as Ireth returned hers. She was watching with their Pokémon to make sure Butch and Cassidy didn't make a run for it.

"Thanks Harry. I don't even wanna think about what might have happened if you and Ireth hadn't shown up when you did." James said, clapping the teen on his back.

"Pure luck, we were on our way to Phasma when we heard the noises all of you were making."

Giovanni blinked, "Phasma? You've already gotten six Badges?" Blushing, Harry nodded. "Well done Harry. You'll both make it to the league, no doubt about that."

Hearing laughter, they saw Ireth coming back with their Pokémon. After returning them all, she turned to Harry. "I swear there's nothing in this world that won't make you blush like a tomato!" She just started to laugh harder when Harry blushed a darker shade of red.

"Aww, but he's so cute this way!" Jesse gushed, little hearts in her eyes. Everyone around her took a step back at the look in her eyes, Harry most of all.

"Well…we gotta get going…BYE!" He took off, a dust cloud showing which direction he went.

"I don't think I've ever seen him move so fast." Ireth commented with a grin. She turned to the Rockets, "Well, been nice seeing you again. I gotta catch up to the Boy-Who-Blushes-A-Lot." The Rockets waved good-bye at the girl, who was still snickering at the new name she gave Harry.

"Those two kids will go far." Meowth said. "They might even win the League!"

"Man, wouldn't that be a sight to see? I don't think we've seen those two battle all out yet." James commented, dragging a still 'heart-eyes' Jesse.

Giovanni just smirked, "Well, I do have three extra tickets to go to the League…"


	13. Chapter 13

It only took Harry (who was still blushing and glaring at his friend) and Ireth (who was still snickering at the expense of her friend) a half-hour to reach the coast. Crystal clear water stretched out as far as they could see with Water and Flying type Pokémon completing the picture. The two teens just stood there for a moment, enjoying the sea breeze.

"I've always loved the ocean; I wanted to live right by it as a kid. That or the mountains." Ireth said, finally having mercy on Harry and stopped teasing him. "I guess that's what happens when you spend nearly your whole life inland, you want a change."

"I can picture living here." Harry agreed. "Well, we better get going. Toxica said that to get to Phasma Island, it's just a straight shot from the coast."

Ireth squinted her eyes, staring off into the distance. "I think I see the fog she was talking about, but it looks tiny from here. Anyway, Gyarados, come on out!" She tossed the Water-types Pokeball, who appeared in the water with a loud roar of delight.

Harry started laughing, "She says 'it's about time I got to swim'. I think we should let her out more."

The lavender-eyed girl just grinned, "Sure thing Gyarados, do you mind taking us across the water? We need to get to Phasma Island."

Gyarados nodded, lowering her head so the two humans could climb up. Once there were settled, the magenta Pokémon set off at a fast pace, creating waves from her movements. Harry and Ireth laughed, enjoying the speed.

"This reminds me of a speed boat I used to ride in when I was younger, made me feel like I was flying across the water." Ireth said, hair whipping in the wind.

Her companion just nodded, eyes closed, relishing the swift breeze. The trip passed by in silence, watching the bright sun reflect off the water. Many times, when Harry was staring at it, he could see large shadows of submerged Pokémon. But since Gyarados didn't say or do anything, he figured they weren't a threat. As the hours passed by, they watched what was the tiny cloud Ireth saw, grew to a giant wall of fog. It almost looked like the world just ended right there, giving them both the creeps.

"Gyarados, slow down when you go in there. Try to find a dock or the shore, or something." Ireth said, huddling closer to one of the Pokémon's spines. Gyarados gave a quiet roar and ventured into the fog at a much slower pace.

The bright sunlight that they had enjoyed was snuffed out like a candle in the dense fog, though they could still see each other and Gyarados, any direction within ten feet was gone. The fog also made it slightly colder, though that may have been their imagination acting up because they could also hear strange noises echoing across the water.

"Don't worry, it's just Pokémon." Harry assured listening to the noises carefully. "It sounds like they're playing or something, but they're not gonna bother us."

_"We've arrived at the shore.'"_ Gyarados said, lowering her head. The two humans climbed off carefully onto the rocky shore. After thanking and returning Gyarados, Ireth and Harry set off. Turns out, Phasma City was right along the shore, which suited them just fine. The buildings here took on a more traditional island feel, just with a spooky atmosphere. But with the lights from the buildings, the fog wasn't nearly as bad as on the open water.

"Hey, there's the Pokémon Center." Ireth said happily, running into the building. "Harry, we get Nurse Joy to check out our Pokémon, they've been working hard lately."

"Sounds like a good idea. While we're waiting, wanna go explore the island?" Harry asked, handing over his Pokeballs.

Ireth shook her head, her badges making a clinking noise as they hit each other. "Nah, I'm just gonna relax here, maybe take a nap."

"Okay, I'll be back in an hour or so, and then we'll head to the Gym." Harry waved goodbye and walked out.

Deciding to walk along the coast, he set off at a slow pace, enjoying the sounds of Pokémon. He thought that if you ignored the spooky vibe the fog gave off, the Island was a peaceful place to visit. As he walked, Harry heard the same group of Pokémon playing nearby. Curious, he climbed over some boulders that protected a clearing. In it were all kinds of Ghost type Pokémon playing together, either tag or hide-and-seek. One Pokémon that resembled a purple gassy ball with eyes and fangs floated over to him. He recognized it as a Ghastly.

_"Hello, would you like to play with us? Most humans are too scared to come this close."_

"Sure I'd like to play, and why would they be scared? Sure you're Ghost types, but that's no excuse." Harry said with a grin, sliding down into the clearing. The other Pokémon all gathered around him happily and pull him into their games.

After several hours of playing (and deciding that playing hide-and-seek with Pokémon that can turn invisible should be considered cheating) Harry said he had to leave to check on his friends. While sad with their new friend leaving, the Ghost types bid him goodbye and helped him out of the clearing. But before Harry got further than a few steps, he felt something tugging at his jeans. Looking down he saw a Pokémon with a body that was shaped like a kimono with a sapphire blue Obi around its waist. Its arms, which hung off the sides of its head like ears, were flared at the wrist to further give it the kimono look. The flared portions were dappled in light blue, while the rest was off-white. Its head was shaped like a water droplet sideways. It had two ice crystals on top as well as several holes through which purple skin could be seen. It stared up at Harry with crystal blue eyes with yellow sclera. Kneeling down, Harry brought out his trusty Pokedex. **Froslass, the Snow Land Pokémon. It freezes its opponents to temperatures nearly minus sixty degrees.**

"Hello little one, what can I do for you?" Harry asked kindly.

_"You're kind and you don't mind Ghost-types like most humans, can I go with you? I want to see other places besides this island."_ Froslass asked, her voice like a silky whisper.

The emerald-eyed teen grinned. "Sure you can come with me. Will you allow me to capture you?" Happy, the Ghost/Ice type nodded and went into the offered Pokeball. Grinning with happiness at the new addition, Harry made his way back to the center. After waking up Ireth (which involved dumping water on the girl, various inventive curses and having to dodge various sharp things being thrown at him) and gathering their Pokémon, the duo made their way to the Phasma Gym.

Inside they were surprised, while the décor reminded them of a haunted house, it looked like a classroom in the middle of the floor where they guessed the battles took place. A woman wearing a purple knee-length dress-suit outfit, glasses and having her hair up in a loose bun was talking to the numerous others sitting in desks in front of her. The lady looked every inch a teacher. She stops talking at the duo's entrance.

"Hello, what can I do for you? I am Spectra, Gym Leader of Phasma and Ghost expert." She asked in a voice that reminded Harry of a mix between McGonagall's sternness and Snape's silkiness, but with a kind tone.

"Hi, I'm Ireth and this is my friend Harry. We're here to challenge you to a battle, but if you're busy, we can wait till later." She finished with an uncertain glance.

Spectra smiled, "Nonsense, this will provide a good lesson for my students on how to battle with Ghost types. Class, please move your desks to the sides of the Gym, quickly please."

In no time, the Gym floor was cleared. And to add to the creepiness of the haunted house/Gym, the referee appeared in a poof of smoke. ('Man, I swear this guy is a stalker!' Harry murmured to Ireth) "This will be a two on two battle! First team to have their Pokémon knocked out loses!"

"Ninetales, show us what you're made of!" Harry called out.

"Vibrava, time to shine!" Ireth yelled.

"Misdreavus and Spiritomb, let's win this!" Spectra said with a smirk.

Spectra's first Pokémon was a dark bluish-green ghost-like Pokémon. It had a red 'necklace' and flowing hair which kinda looked like a hand. Its eyes were yellow with red irises. Harry pointed his Pokedex: **Misdreavus, the Screech Pokémon. Misdreavus are extremely mischievous and like to cry out at night just to startle people.**

The second Pokémon resembled a swirling, purple vortex with green, varying sized orbs of light circling the face. Its mouth was green in a crooked expression and two green eyes shaped like half-crescents. One of its eyes had a spiral shaped pupil. Weirdly, it was attached to a light brown/gray stone. Ireth looked up this one: **Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokémon. As punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago, Spiritomb was sealed in the fissure of an Odd Keystone.**

"Creepy, okay Vibrava use Dragon Breath!" Ireth ordered.

"Ninetales, use Flamethrower!" Harry called.

"Both of you dodge and use Shadow Ball!" Spectra yelled.

Both Ghost types managed to dodge the streams of multi-colored energy and fire, launching orbs of darkness at their opponents. Though Ninetales managed to nimbly jump out of the way, Vibrava wasn't so lucky.

"Vibrava! Show them what you're made of, use Sand Tomb!" Ireth cheered on her Pokémon.

"Ninetales, help him out, use Fire Spin to keep the other two from moving!" Harry ordered.

The Fire type nodded and breathed out a curled stream of fire, surrounding the Ghost types. With the fire so close, the two Pokémon panicked, not hearing Spectra's orders to sink into the floor to safety. Suddenly, the floor swallowed them up, courtesy of Vibrava's attack. The ground took on the shape of a cube, and then collapsed in on itself.

"Misdreavus! Spiritomb!" Spectra called out, a worried look on her face. It changed to relief and resignation when the two Pokémon climbed out of the rubble only to fall, KO'd on top of it.

"We did….huh?" Ireth started to cheer, only to stop when Vibrava began to glow and change shape. As the transformation was taking place, Ireth heard Harry mutter with humor, 'It's always during a battle with you'. In Vibrava's place was a large, light green, insect-like dragon Pokémon. Its tail had several dark green stripes and three green rhombus shapes at the end. Its wings were green and rhombus-shaped as well, toeless hind legs and three-clawed hands. Over its eyes was red-lensed 'goggles' and a pair of green antennae on its head. Ireth whipped out her Pokedex: **Flygon, the Mystic Pokémon. It's known as the desert spirit because of the song-like voice that emanates from the sandstorms it kicks up.**

"Sweet! Vibrava evolved!" Ireth cheered.

While she gushed over Flygon, Spectra approached a grinning Harry. "Congratulations you two. Here are the Badges you've rightly won." The Badges, funnily enough, were shaped like cartoonish ghosts. "If you walk straight through town, you'll end up at the opposite end beach you arrived at. Head straight across and you'll end up at Frigus Beach, which leads straight up to Glacies. I wish you two luck, because you'll need it with Crystal." She ended her speech by actually disappearing in front of their eyes.

Getting creeped out again with what happened, the duo follow Spectra's directions and head straight out to open water, Harry riding on Dragonair while Ireth rode on Flygon.

"Okay, I am never coming back to this place again. While I love Halloween and stuff, that was just plain scary." Ireth said, shuddering.

Harry nodded, and then smirked, "Wouldn't it have been funny, if Spectra wasn't really there at all? And we were fighting her ghost?"

Ireth just glared at Harry, "You know I can call back Dragonair, and you would have a nasty fall to the water…" She smirked at the cowed look Harry had. "Score one for me!"

Traveling across the blue water, the two humans gradually noticed the change in temperature. What was once a warm day gracefully turned cool, almost like autumn. Once they hit the beach did they have to pull out their jackets. As Ireth returned her Pokémon, Harry glanced around at the forest. Out here, so far from the mainland, the trees were covered in a layer of frost, thin enough that they could still see the color of the leaves. Looking at the pathway leading in, Harry could see the transformation in the trees to winter.

"Now that's pretty cool." He noted.

"Don't you mean cold?" Ireth teased, pulling her silver jacket closer. Harry's response was to lightly punch her arm. "Meany."

"Come on, Glacies is a few miles inland." The teen said, walking down the frosted dirt path, his friend at his side.


	14. Chapter 14

They walked for several minutes in silence, not even wild Pokémon made any noise. They watched the trees turn from a late autumn to the middle of winter, snow covering the ground in a soft powder. Harry and Ireth breath turn misty in the chilled air.

"Man, the first thing we do when we get to Glacies, buy some heavy coats!" The lavender-eyed girl grumbled.

"Hear that." The emerald-eyed boy muttered in agreement.

"Though you have to admit…this place looks like a frozen picturesque scene."

Said peaceful scene was broken by the sound of fighting and two Pokémon breaking through the snow-covered brush. They had been fighting each other but when they saw the two humans, they made a temporary truce to take out Harry and Ireth.

The first Pokémon looked like a gray shell with two openings. The opening in front revealed bright yellow eyes. Its short legs were gray and extended from the shell's underside; the inner potions of the legs had red coloration. On top of its shell were three ridges. Ireth looked up this Pokémon. ** Shelgon, the Endurance Pokémon. It surrounds its body in an iron-hard shell to accumulate enough power to evolve.**

The other Pokémon looked like a blue robotic life form, with its disc-shaped body and three clawed arms. Its eyes were red and it had a pointed noise. The thing Harry found interesting about it, as he readied his Pokedex, was that the Pokémon had no legs at all, and that it was levitating. **Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon. Its highly developed intellect and strong magnetic force allow it to create powerful psychic energy.**

Both Pokémon, the duo noticed, had multiple scars all over them, showing that the two loved to battle and have been doing it for awhile.

"Uh oh…I think they think we're a threat to them." Ireth muttered, seeing the Pokémon glare.

"Let's show them what we're made of." Harry said. "Medieon, let's go, use Shadow Ball!"

"Got it." His companion said. "Kirlia, attack with Psychic!"

Both Wild Pokémon just started to growl, and without thinking, launched themselves at their opponents, which was what became their downfall. Metang was slammed into a frozen tree by the ball of darkness, while Shelgon was lifted high into the air and slammed into the hard earth. As one, both Trainers threw a Pokeball at the knocked out Pokémon, Harry's at Metang, while Ireth's got Shelgon. Both balls shook repeatedly, before falling silent.

"We did it!" Ireth cheered happily and picked up her Pokeball. Harry was silent as he picked up his. "What's wrong Harry?"

"I'm waiting for Kirlia to evolve."

Bemused, Ireth asked, "Why are you waiting for-"She didn't even finished the sentence when Kirlia started to glow. As the Pokémon was changing, Harry murmured 'I was right; it's always with a battle with you.' When the light faded, a graceful Pokémon was standing there. Where Kirlia had a tutu, this Pokémon had a long, white ballroom-like gown with a green underside. Her 'hair' style had changed to curls down the sides of her head. Looking between the slits of her dress, they could see she had long, slender white legs that ended at a point. Her arms were green, the hands connected to the arm with no defined wrist. It had red fin-like horns on her chest and back. On the side of her face were spikes that reminded them both of a masquerade mask. Ireth just stood there speechless, so Harry brought out his Pokedex. **Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. Gardevoir has the psychokinetic power to distort the dimensions and create a small black hole. This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer even at the risk of its own life.**

"Wow that is one cool Pokémon." Harry commented.

_"Thank you Harry."_ Gardevoir's voice was like a soothing melody. _"Is Miss Ireth alright?"_ Harry turned to Ireth, to still see her staring at the Psychic Pokémon.

Concerned, Harry voiced Gardevoir's question. "Oh yeah, I'm alright. It's just…Gardevoir are my favorite Pokémon since I was little. I had always wanted to catch one, and now that I have one…it's a little overwhelming to me." Ireth said happily, eyes sparkling in glee. Both Harry and Gardevoir laughed at the Trainer's expense, causing her to blush slightly. "Oh knock it off you two. Come on, we need to get to Glacies to get our Pokémon checked out. I'm sure they're all tired from the trip."

Nodding to the truth in her words, Harry returned his Pokémon along with Ireth and they set off at a quicker pace to get to the final city. The further in the got, the colder it seemed to get. Though it was worth it to see the frozen wonderland that surrounded them.

After twenty minutes of walking, they finally reached the frozen city. They had to stop to stare at the unusual scene before them. All the other cities they've been to were modern, but Glacies was like taking a trip back in time to Feudal Japan. Traditional style buildings decorated with colored paper lamps gave everything a soft glow. People walking around were wearing kimonos or hakamas. The roads, though covered in a light dusting of snow, were simple brown dirt. It also seemed that they came during a party or something, because vendors were everywhere doing something, from games to food to music and everything in between.

"Now this is freaking cool!" Ireth said awed.

"Got that right, let's get to the Pokémon Center and ask Nurse Joy what's going on." Harry said, dragging his eyes away from a duo doing a fire dance.

Luckily, the Pokémon Center was easy to find, even though it was the same style of buildings surrounding it. Even Nurse Joy looked the same, though she was wearing a pink and white Kimono.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"We need our Pokémon looked over, and we were hoping you could answer a few questions."

Nurse Joy smiled and took their Pokeballs and gave them to Chansey to take to the back. "I'll try my best to answer them."

The duo smiled in gratitude. "Thanks. I guess the first question is, is what's going on?" Ireth questioned.

The pink haired nurse grinned, "It's our Solstice Festival. It's to celebrate the bonding of Pokémon and Humans. Basically it's just to have a great time. You're lucky, the Festival just started yesterday."

"How long does the Festival last?" Harry asked.

"Once week is the normal time frame, though occasionally everyone is just having so much fun that the Festival just goes on. There are games to play, all sorts of food to try out, and there are even contests for both Human and Pokémon."

By now, Chansey had returned with their Pokémon. _"Here you go, all healthy and ready to go."_

"Thank you Chansey." Harry said. "I have another question. Since the Festival is going on, is the Gym open to challengers?"

Nurse Joy shook her head, "I'm afraid not. All businesses shut down for the Festival, so everyone can have a great time. I suggest you take advantage of it, I know you'll have a blast."

The duo nodded, "Yeah, I think we will. This will be a nice change from traveling and battling. Plus I'm sure our Pokémon will have fun as well." Ireth said.

"We'll stick out like sore thumbs though." Harry said, gesturing to their clothes. Compared to everyone else, they came from the far future.

The Pokémon Nurse just laughed, "You aren't the first ones to come to the Festival and not have traditional clothes." She pointed down a side hallway. "Just go down that way and you'll come to two doors. Men on the right, ladies on the left. Inside are traditional clothes you can have. Between the Festival times and whenever it's not that busy, I go to the store and buy all the clothes I can get my hands on. Pick whatever you like and you get to keep it. And don't worry about your packs; I can keep them here where they'll be safe. I do it for all the other Trainers.

Emerald and lavender eyes lit up. In unison they bowed and said, "Thank you Nurse Joy!" After they grabbed their Pokeballs and raced down the hallway. Splitting up at their respective doors, Harry gasped at everything inside. Every type of color, style and decoration that could be put on clothes was in the room, which resembled a giant walk-in closet. Row after row of shirts, pants, and shoes greeted his eyes. Walking up and down the aisles for a few minutes, Harry just couldn't think of anything to wear. Finally giving up, he tossed out three Pokeballs. Absol, Froslass and Ninetales popped out. What he needed was a woman's touch.

"Okay, since I can't think of anything to wear to the Festival, can you three help out?" Harry pleaded the three female Pokémon. He gulped however, when he saw the 'Look' in their eyes. The type of look that promises a guy being turned into a life-size dress-up doll.

_"Let's see, I'll get the shirt." _Ninetales said excitedly and ran off.

_"I'll go with her so we can get pants to match the shirt." _Absol added and chased off after the Fire-type.

_"Let's see what we can do with your hair._" Froslass said, floating up. She started to play with the messy 'all-over-the-place' black hair. After several moments of trying different styles and the like, the Ghost/Ice Type finally found something she liked. Finding a mirror, Harry had to admit that Froslass worked a miracle with his hair. It was still messy, but it was the kind of 'messy' that other guys spent hours to get their hair to be like.

"It's perfect Froslass, you did a great job." Harry commented, hugging Froslass.

_"Harry, we found your outfit."_ Absol called out. On her back was his outfit, folded up neatly.

"Thanks girls. I'm going to go change real quick." Harry said, grabbing the pile and slipping into the dressing room. Once he was finished, he admired the hakama his Pokémon picked out for him. The shirt was a rich golden color; the edges of the long, wide sleeves were black with gold stitching in the shape of tiny swirls. It had a large black sash with gold stitching on the edges going around his waist, so he kept his Pokeballs there. The pants were a silky black. Simple but elegant looking as well as nice and warm. Stepping back out, Harry slipped on the wooden sandals Ninetales had found.

_"You look great Papa."_ The Fire-type said, nuzzling up to her Trainer.

_"Indeed you do little one. I say we outdid ourselves."_ Absol said smugly, preening.

Harry just rolled his eyes. "Yes, we all know you have superb taste when it comes to clothes. Let's go, Ireth should be done by now."

The teen recalled his Pokémon and walked out of the giant 'closet'. Glancing around, he saw that Ireth wasn't out of the room yet, so he sat down on a stool to wait. Five minutes later she stepped out in her new outfit. The kimono hugged her figure perfectly, going down to her ankles, same with the long sleeves. It was a beautiful white with light purple petals falling. Around her waist was a large purple sash, a few shades darker than the petals. Her hair was done is a loose bun, held with white chopsticks and had a purple flower right above her ear. Her shoes were the same as his.

Laughing, she twirled around; Harry could see that she kept her Pokeballs on the back of the sash. "What do you think?"

"You look great, like you just came from the past." Harry answered grinning.

"You don't look too bad yourself. Now let's get out there and have some fun!" Both teens raced out of the Pokémon Center, waving to Nurse Joy as they did so and started walking around, content to just take in the sights.

It seemed that the whole city was the Festival grounds. They saw all kinds of games being played, from trying to catch fish with a paper fan (Harry tried this, only to get wet and Ireth to snicker at him) to competitions ranging from Pokémon with the strongest attack to how they looked and everything in between.

"Hey, let's try that one." Ireth suggested.

Harry followed her eyes and saw an ice sculpting contest, the winner getting a crystal version of their sculpture at the end of the Festival.

"Sure, sounds fun." Walking up to the person in charge of the contest Harry asked. "We would like to play, are there any rules?"

The vendor smiled and ushered them into the small arena. Spectators were outside a white fence, getting ready to watch the show. "It has to be a Pokémon you sculpt but it can be any Pokémon. It also has to be all of it, not just a head or something. You may also have one Pokémon helping you with this. The contest lasts ten minutes, then the judges with pick the best one. That's pretty much it. Oh, I'll also need to have your names."

"Thanks, I'm Harry and she's Ireth." Harry said and went to stand next to a very large block of ice. There were only three people in the arena. Himself, Ireth and a third girl. She was about as tall as he was, pale and had orange, chin-length hair with a slight curl to it framing a heart-shaped face. Like Ireth, she had a flower in her hair, this one a bright blue, like her eyes. Her kimono was a rich teal that gently faded to an emerald green that mirrored Harry's eyes. Her sash was silver with a thinner emerald sash in the middle of it.

Beside the girl was a short bi-pedal Pokémon that reminded Harry of a mix between a cat and a weasel. Its body was predominantly black, but it had a bright red feather-like growths on its left ear and lower back. It had two large claws on its front and back paws, along with distinctive yellow markings on its face and chest. Someone in the crowd had a Pokedex, so Harry listened to it talk. **Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. This cunning Pokémon hides in the cover of darkness, waiting to attack its prey.**

"Okay, let's see..." Harry muttered, thinking about which Pokémon to use. Smiling at the idea, Harry tossed a Pokeball. "Ninetales, come on out." The crowd gasped and awed at the beautiful fox Pokémon, it quickly changed to coos when Ninetales tackling her Trainer to the ground and started to cuddle with him. "Come on sweetie, we got a contest to win!_"_

_"Okay Papa."_ Ninetales said with a pout, letting her Trainer get up. Turning around, he saw Ireth already at her Pokémon out, having chose Riolu.

"Ladies and gentlemen and honored visitors, the Ice Sculpting contest is about to being. Competing today, we have our visiting Trainers Harry with his Ninetales." The crowd cheered. "And Ireth with her Riolu." The crowd cheered again. "And finally our own Glacies Naomi and her Sneasel nicknamed Nicky!" The crowd cheered a third time. "The contestants may do any Pokémon they wish. They have ten minutes to complete their statue." While the man was talking, Harry was trying to think of which Pokémon he could do. Thinking of his backpack that had tribal Legendary Pokémon, he picked one of them and began whispering to Ninetales about it, not knowing that Ireth had picked something similar and was murmuring to Riolu what she wanted.

"Trainers may help their Pokémon. Now, ready…set…go!"

The next ten minutes passed by in a flurry of shaved ice and various attacks. Harry had Ninetales control her flames to melt the ice into the general shape of the Pokémon, then he and the Fire-type would work together for the detail. Riolu was busting up the ice into the shape Ireth wanted, and then began to cut and shape the ice. Naomi and Sneasel were a blur of sharp claws and chisel. They were all so focused on their work; they paid no attention to the world around them. The crowd however all began to smile at the irony of their work and waited to see what the Trainers' reactions would be.

"And….Time! That's it! Step away from your statues please." The contest leader ordered.

Gathering off to the side, the three humans tried to catch their breath, the Pokémon doing the same thing. Staring at their statues and then the others, all three started laughing, which got the crowd going too. All three had done a Legendary Pokémon; Harry did Raikou, Ireth did Entei, and Naomi did Suicune.

"Great minds think alike I guess." Naomi laughed out, Sneasel now sitting on her shoulder.

"Got that right." Harry said with a grin, petting Ninetales.

Ireth tilted her head to the side, Riolu being held like a doll in her arms, "They look pretty good don't they?"

The other two nodded, staring at the three Legendary Pokémon statues. All three had regal poses, they just appeared to be frozen for a moment in time, they were so life-like. The judges had inspected all three very carefully and now were debating in hushed whispers. Finally, they stood up and smiled at the three Trainers.

"After careful inspection, which by the way all three of you did excellent job on details, we have decided…that it's a three way tie!" The first judge said.

The second judge picked up, "It's just too close to pick a definite winner, and so all three of you will receive crystal statues of your masterpieces."

The third and last judge walked up and handed the three humans a medal with a snowflake on it. "Well done you three, you've earned it."

The crowd broke out into the loudest roar yet. Harry turned to Ireth and Naomi; both had grins that mirrored his own. "Great job girls."

"Thanks Harry." Ireth said, giving him a one-armed hug.

"Likewise. It's the first time I've ever seen this contest end in a tie, let alone a three-way one." Naomi added, recalling her Pokémon. After the duo returned their own Pokémon, the orange haired girl asked. "Is this your first time in Glacies?"

"Yup, we came here to challenge the Gym Leader Crystal, but the Festival's going on." Harry answered.

"We don't mind though, this Festival's worth waiting to get a Badge." Ireth finished. "So, what else is there to do here?"

Naomi grinned, "Come on, I'll show you."

For the next five days, Ireth and Harry hung out with Naomi (Thankfully, they were granted rooms at the Pokémon Center). The trio had a blast, trying new foods (Naomi and Harry got a great laugh when Ireth bit into something that had a pepper in it with caused her to run around with steam coming out her ears. They paid for it when she got Gardevoir to dump a huge pile of snow on their heads), trying the games from carnival style games like tossing a ring onto a bottle (Ireth was great at this game, winning a Pikachu plushie). They also watched other contests, like the Ice Creation contest, where the contestants used Pokémon with Water and Ice attacks to create anything. The more imaginative, the better. The winner of that contest had created ice 'waves' swirling around each other, and on the inside you could see various Water-types swimming in the ice. There was even a few that were in and out of the ice. On the last day of the Festival, was the largest competition.

"Ice Skating?" Ireth asked, reading the sign.

"Yeah, it's the biggest contest available, so it's held on the last day of the Festival and all the other vendors close down. Anyone is eligible to play, from Humans to Pokémon. There are singles and doubles; with doubles you can have your Pokémon skate with you. You skate to any song you like and get awarded points for style, grace, etc. The winner will get an Egg, though everyone competing will get something as well."

"Let's do it Harry, this will be fun!" Ireth said grinning.

Harry nodded, grinning, "As long as we do Doubles, I've never skated before."

"Don't worry Harry. Lots of people try this contest; most have never skated just like you. This contest really isn't a completion, but a chance to just have fun." Naomi said, dragging her friends toward the sign-up booth.


	15. Chapter 15

"Alright, this all seems to be in order. Now, go to your dressing rooms and get changed." The booth master said and handed them each a number that would be attached to the back of their outfit. "You know how Nurse Joy keeps spare outfits for the Festival? Same principle here, you keep your clothes, but we keep the skates."

Harry was led off in one direction, the girls to another. Inside was a _huge _dressing room. Row after row of dressing mirrors greeted his eyes on side of the room, and on the other side was the changing area. Straight across was another door. Already there were dozens of guys of all ages getting ready.

"Go through that door, that's where the outfits are. We'll give you your skates when you leave this room. Put your clothes in the bin that has your number on it." The man who led Harry there said quickly, then left to help a little kid put on his skates.

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Harry went through the door the man indicated. Inside, just like at the Pokémon Center, was hundreds of outfits in different styles and colors. Harry picked a one piece, sleeveless outfit and hurriedly went to change. It was dark blue with a jagged white design going from his right shoulder down to his left waist, and around the edges of that were faux gems. Deciding to not mess with his hair (What's the point? It's just gonna get messy again) Harry grabbed his skates and went to the waiting area. There were enough tables and chairs to fit the entire Hogwarts staff and student body in there. Grabbing a bottle of water, Harry sat down to wait.

After twenty minutes, Ireth and Naomi showed up, their skates hanging over their shoulders. Ireth was wearing a single strap dress that went down to mid-thigh. It hugged her waist, but flared out at the skirt. It started out as a soft royal blue, fading as it went down, to white. The top part of her dress was decorated with faux diamonds in elegant swirls. Her hair was done in a tight bun and she had a blue cherry blossom in her hair. Ireth also had a little make-up on, blue eye-shadow, and had glitter on her face and arms.

Naomi's dress was a strapless dress the same length as Ireth's. The main part was black, but at the end of the skirt it was a bright teal and emerald. At the top of the dress was faux diamonds in rows, creating a 'V' pattern. In the middle of that was a thin 'V' the same coloring as the end of her dress. Around her neck was a semi-transparent emerald scarf that hung behind her to her waist, fading to teal. Her hair was done like in a tight bun as well, her flower was behind the opposite ear, an emerald rose. Glitter was on her as well, and her make-up was a soft emerald eye-shadow.

Beside Naomi was Nicky, who had a teal and emerald beanie. The Sharp Claw Pokémon seemed to glare at anyone who started to snicker at it, Harry and Ireth included.

"All we have to do is give our song choices to the operator and we're set to go!" Naomi said happily, dragging her friends to the song coordinator.

After giving their song choices, the friends sat down and watched the big screen that showed the other contestants how they were doing. It was clear about what Naomi said; a lot of people have never been on skates before. But the crowd never once booed or jeered, all they did was laugh and cheer on whoever was skating at the time. Even the skaters laughed at themselves whenever they fell and everyone had a great time.

Naomi and Nicky names' were called and the two put on their skates. "Good luck you two!" Harry called.

"Break a leg!" Ireth shouted after them.

The blue-eye girl laughed, "I hope not, that would hurt!" Harry and Ireth just started laughing with her.

Over the speakers, clips from Naomi's song choice 'Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath' started to play. Being an Ice-type, Sneasel had no trouble gliding over the ice. Naomi on the other hand didn't have that much grace. Though she never fell flat on her face (Nicky made sure of that) she entertained the crowd with her antics. Everyone was cheering and laughing right along with her.

"She's not bad. While not Olympic worthy, I believe the crowd's response is that they like her." Ireth commented, fiddling with her skirt.

"Have you ever skated before?" Harry asked his battle partner.

"A couple times. I've never fallen if that's what you're wondering." She grinned wryly. "What about you? You've really never skated before?"

"Nope, but who knows? I just hope I don't tangle us up in a heap of limbs." Harry joked. He gasped when he turned back to the TV, Ireth copying him. Nicky had just tossed his Trainer high into the air (with her doing flips as well). The Pokémon then started to spin around until he was just a black and red blur. Right before Naomi would've fallen onto the ice, Nicky jumped and caught her right as the song ended.

Silence for a moment, and then everyone started to cheer.

Red-faced and panting, Naomi and Nicky gave a graceful bow to the crowd and then skated off to rest.

"Wow that was incredible!" Ireth breathed out.

Harry gave a whistle, "I thought for sure that Nicky wouldn't get to her in time. Fantastic ending though."

"Would numbers 67 and 68 please come to the ring?" The announcer said over the speakers.

"That's us. Let's go." The emerald-eyed teen said, standing up. They made their way quickly to the ice and stood side by side.

While the announcer said their names and what song they were dancing to, Ireth turned to whisper to Harry. "Just ignore everyone else. It's just you, me and the song. Let the music guide you."

Just before the song started, Harry gave a smirk at Ireth, "You got that from a movie didn't you?"

"Maybe." She smirked back. "Less talky, more dancy!"

_(Fireworks by Katy Perry plays)_

_Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?_

Harry did as Ireth told him and let the music move him.

_Do you ever feel, feel so paper thing, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?_

As one, the two started swirling around on the ice, during which not once did Harry stumble or fall. '_This is incredible! Almost like when I flew the first time at Hogwarts.' _Harry thought.

_Do you ever feel already buried deep, six feet under scream but no one seems to hear a thing?_

The duo did a jump with a twirl in it, landing on one foot causing the crowd to gasp.

_Do you know that there's still a chance for you cause there's a spark in you_

Harry grabbed Ireth's hand and whipped her around, making her spin while he skated back to get more space.

_ You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the Fourth of July!_

Ireth started to spin faster and faster while Harry prepared to do a jump.

_Cause baby you're a firework. Come on show 'em what you're worth. Make 'em go 'Oh, oh oh!' As you shoot across the sky-y-y!_

Now all Ireth was a bluish blur and Harry did a triple jump, the last one sailing over the girl.

_Baby you're a firework. Come on let your colors burst. Make 'em go 'Oh, oh, oh!' You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own_

As he landed he started to spin like Ireth, copying her speed exactly. Stopping, the two started to skate around again, this time going backwards, then on one foot.

_You don't have to feel like a waste of space. You're original, cannot be replaced. If you only knew what the future holds. After a hurricane comes a rainbow_

Doing a sweeping motion with their leg, they started to spin again, this time going at an angle, like a leaning top.

_Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed. So you could open one that leads you to the prefect road. Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow. And when it's time, you'll know_

The crowd gasped when they jumped as one, did a triple twirl, and then continued to spin like they were

_You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the Fourth of July!_

Ireth stopped first and skated over to Harry.

_Cause baby you're a firework. Come on show 'em what you're worth. Make 'em go 'Oh, oh, oh!' As you shoot across the sky-y-y_

She nimbly dodged her partner's spinning blade, causing the crowd to gasp again.

_Baby you're a firework. Come on let yours colors burst. Make 'em go 'oh, oh oh!' You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe_

When she got near enough, Harry grabbed her hand and lifted her up over his head and twirled around again.

_Boom, boom, boom. Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon. It's always been inside of you, you, you. And now it's time to let it through_

(_Song ends)_

Just as the song ended, he stopped moving, tossed her into the air, and caught her bridal style.

The crowd went absolutely nuts! Panting, Ireth and Harry took in the sight of the standing ovation they earned. Blushing to the roots of their hair, the duo bowed and skated off the ice.

Naomi greeted them with water and a hug, "That was fantastic guys! I've never seen such grace and beauty. And the tricks you two did took my breath away a couple times."

Harry just shrugged, blushing even more, "I just did what Ireth said, let the music move me."

They went back to the waiting area, where the other competitors greeted Harry and Ireth with claps on the back and congrats on a great dance. The time passed swiftly with only a few dancers left. The small group just sat and enjoyed the show.

Finally, it was over and over the intercom "Would all competitors please come to the ice arena. We're about to announce the winners."

It took a few minutes for everyone to get onto the ice, but eventually they were all standing on the ice in front of two judges.

The first one started, "Congratulations to all of you for a fine job. Though you all can't win the top prize." He gestures to an icy blue Egg sitting on a pillow. "You will all get either a Pokémon plushy, whatever kind you want, or a T-shirt with whatever Pokémon you want."

The other judge continued, "After careful consideration, we have decided that the winners of the Glacies Ice Skating Contest are...Harry and Ireth!"

The crowd and other competitors began clapping and cheering for the shell-shocked duo. Naomi just laughed and gently pushed the two forward.

"We won?" Harry questioned.

"We won!" Ireth replied happily.

The judges placed a gold medal with a pair of skates etched on around their necks. They also gave them the Egg, which had been placed in a glass incubator.

"Inside is an Ice-Type Pokémon, though we don't know which one it is." He said, handing it to Ireth. Grinning, she thanked the judge.

"Now that the Ice Skating competition is over, all the other vendors are opened once more! Please enjoy the end of the Festival." Everyone in the arena started to trickle out, some to open up their stalls and others to go to said stalls.

Harry, Ireth and Naomi stood outside the Pokémon Center. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow. Didn't you say you wanted to battle Crystal?" Naomi questioned, back into her kimono. Harry and Ireth were back in theirs as well.

"Yup, but we have something we want to ask you." Harry started.

Naomi tilted her head. "Okay, what?"

In answer, the emerald eyed teen handed her the incubator. "We already have six Pokémon each so we can't take any more."

"We want to know that the baby will be taken care of." Ireth added. "If it's with you, we know it'll get a lot of love."

Naomi looked down at the Egg, then back up. "Thanks guys, I promise I'll take good care of it."

The duo grinned, "We know." Harry then gave a big yawn, causing the other two to laugh at him. "I guess we better turn in, it's been a busy day."

"Yeah, we got Crystal's battle tomorrow." Ireth added.

"You two get some shut-eye. I'll wait for you at the entrance to the League." The orange haired girl said and then ran off.


	16. Chapter 16

_The next day_

Blinking against the bright sunlight, Harry groaned as he got up. "Sometimes I hate the sun…" He muttered. Quickly going through is morning routine, which took half an hour, Harry returned to see Ireth still out cold. Wondering how to get her up, a sudden idea struck Harry. Giving a grin, the kind that made everyone within a ten mile radius shiver in fear and glance over their shoulders, Harry went and got a bucket, filled it with ice and water, and then crept back into the room. Standing behind Ireth, Harry mercilessly dumped the contents of the bucket on his friend while yelling "GET UP!"

The effect was instant. Harry started laughing while Ireth jumped out of bed, soaking wet and shivering, and screamed, "PURPLE CHICKENS ATTACKING THE CUPCAKES OF HAPPINESS!"

Harry just stood there with a 'WTF' look on his face while he watched the girl run around the room. He paled to ghostly white when Ireth turned to him, fire spitting from her eyes. "Oh crap."

"NOW YOU DIE HARRY! GET BACK HERE!"

Thirty minutes, several beatings, and a quick change of clothes later, a fuming but smug Ireth was standing next to Harry who was sporting several large lumps on his head, stood outside the Glacies Gym. "You didn't have to hit that hard you know." Harry grumbled.

"You didn't have to wake me like that you know." Was the come-back.

Sighing, Harry opened the large doors and walked inside the Gym, Ireth in step beside him. The inside was a large dojo-like room. The only difference was that in random spots on the floor were giant ice pillars.

"That's pretty cool." Ireth commented. She brushed a hand against one of the pillars. "It's real ice. Neat."

"I'm glad you think so." A new voice said. A tall woman stepped from behind a pillar. She had long, light blue hair that almost looked white, done in a high ponytail and cold, icy blue eyes that reminded them of actual ice. She wore a blue sun-dress that had snowflakes falling on it. "I am Crystal, the Gym Leader of Glacies."

"We are Harry and Ireth, just traveling Trainers." Ireth greeted.

Crystal nodded a small smile on her face, "I've heard about you two from my friends, the other Leaders. They say you two work very well together and are very strong. I look forward to our match. Though it's going to be different from any other Battle you've had before."

Off to the side, one of the pillars began shaking. It finally exploded, revealing the referee.

"I swear that guy is the same one!" Harry muttered "This is really starting to annoy me". Ireth just snickered at her friend.

"For the final Gym Battle, the rules have changed slightly. Instead of a two on two battle, it will be three on three. The challengers will each send out one Pokémon. When one Pokémon falls, that Trainer will send out the third Pokémon."

"Ninetales, I choose you!"

"Come on out Riolu!"

"Dewgong and Glaceon, let's do this!"

Crystal's first Pokémon was a white sea-lion Pokémon with a black nose and eyes and had two short fangs on its upper lip. Harry's Pokedex said:** Dewgong, the Sea Lion Pokémon. Its entire body is a snowy-white. Unharmed by even intense cold, it swims powerfully in icy waters.**

The second Pokémon kinda reminded Harry of a fox. It was covered in light-blue fur. Its inner ears, two spots on its back, tail end and cap-endings were all rhombus-shaped and were a darker blue. Its feet were also a dark blue, giving it the impression of wearing boots. Ireth's Pokedex got this one: **Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokémon and one of the evolved forms of Eevee. Glaceon can freeze the fur on its body, and make it stick out like sharp needles.**

"I'll start this off, Dewgong, use Hydro Pump! Glaceon use Quick Attack followed up with Ice Shard." Crystal ordered. Dewgong launched a powerful stream of water right at Ninetales while Glaceon vanished from sight.

"Ninetales dodge and use Fireblast!" Harry called

"Riolu, use Aura Sphere to stop Glaceon!" Ireth yelled.

Dewgong's attack though came at Ninetales too fast and the Fire-type was hit, smashing into a pillar of ice.

_"Ow that hurt!"_ She growled out and then launched her own attack, landing a hit and badly burning the Water/Ice type.

Meanwhile, Riolu managed to land his attack on Glaceon who had appeared to launch its own. The Ice-type was smashed into a pillar similar to Ninetales.

"No! Glaceon, Dewgong, both of you use Aqua Tail!"

The two Pokémon's tails gained a coat of water on it, and then launched the attack like missiles.

"Ninetales, use Fire Spin, protect yourself and Riolu!" Ordered Harry

"Riolu, use Aura Sphere!"

The blue fox Pokémon nodded and released a stream of fire that surrounded herself and her partner just as the jet-stream of water landed. Steam filled up the arena, though they could see a red blur streak across the gym, along with a cry of pain.

When the steam finally cleared, two Pokémon were knocked out, Ninetales and Glaceon. Riolu and Dewgong were still standing, the former looking smug

"How did Glaceon get knocked out?" Harry questioned. "And Ninetales?"

"I had Riolu launch an Aura Sphere from inside the Fire Spin. It gained flames and hit Glaceon dead-on." Ireth said. "Maybe Ninetales was just overwhelmed, keeping the Fire Spin up against those Aqua Tails."

"Very inventive." Crystal commented. "Now pick your next Pokémon Harry." Grabbing her own Pokeball.

"You got it. Absol, time to play!"

_"Finally! I thought you'd never let me battle!"_ The Dark-type growled out, staring at her opponents.

"Let's win this Mamoswine!"

A huge wooly mammoth/boar like Pokémon appeared. Its fur was a dark brown and looked very thick. It had very long tusks, a 'mask' on their face that had a white rim while the inside was blue. The fur on its muzzle was tan and shaggy, and it had a pig-like noise. Its feet were black and had three thick claws. Harry's Pokedex said: **Mamoswine, the Twin Tusk Pokémon. Its impressive tusks are made of ice. The population thinned when it turned warm after the ice age.**

"Mamoswine, use Mud-slap! Dewgong use Aurora Beam!" Crystal ordered, not wasting any time.

"Absol, dodge and use Night Slash!"

"Riolu, dodge and use Thunder Punch!"

As one, the two Pokémon jumped high into the air, making both attacks miss completely. Darkness coated Absol's head-blade while lightning coated Riolu's paw. Both of their attacks landed, Absol's knocking the wind out of Mamoswine, while Riolu's knocked Dewgong out.

"Dewgong return! Okay Mamoswine, it's all up to you. Use Earthquake!"

The Ice/Ground type started to stomp its feet, causing the whole room to shake. Ireth had to lean on Harry to help keep their balance. Absol and Riolu weren't as lucky, both falling to the floor.

"Now Mamoswine, use Ice Beam on Absol!" Crystal called out.

Mamoswine readied the frozen beam in its mouth, and then let it fly straight at the Disaster Pokémon.

"Absol get up!" But she wouldn't be able to jump in time, but she didn't have to.

_"No one attacks my friends and gets away with it!"_ Riolu growled out, palm glowing.

"Riolu is using Aura to stop Mamoswine's attack." Ireth realized. "Riolu, send that straight at Mamoswine!"

The Fighting-type nodded and threw the attack straight at its creator with twice the speed, freezing Mamoswine solid.

"You think that will stop Mamoswine? Just give it a minute and he'll break free." Crystal said. Already they could see the frozen Pokémon shake, making cracks appear in his icy prison.

Absol turned to Riolu after she got to her feet. _"Thank you Riolu."_

_"No problem."_ Riolu said with a smirk.

"That's my Riolu! Able to break the laws of physics." Ireth grinned. Harry just shook his head at her and turned back to the battle, only to have his eyes widen with something happened. Riolu was glowing with his evolution. As he was changing, Harry muttered to Ireth 'It's always during a battle with you' and turned back to watch the evolution.

When the light died down, they got to see the changes. A bipedal, jackal-like Pokémon was standing there. His forepaws were black and had one white spike on each arm on the upper-side of his wrists. There was also one more spike on his chest. His snout and ears were longer than what Riolu had. He had a furry yellow torso, and his thighs were in the shape of what looked like blue shorts. The new Pokémon stood only on his toes instead of the whole foot. Excited, Ireth pointed her Pokedex at the Pokémon: **Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. By catching the Aura emanating from others, it can read their thoughts and movements.**

_"I knew she was the one." _Lucario said proudly, staring at Ireth. _"Tell her I am honored to have her as my Trainer."_

Grinning, Harry relayed those words to Ireth, who beamed happily. "I am honored to have you as my Pokémon Lucario. Now, let's kick some butt!"

Lucario and Absol nodded at each other, and then stared at the once frozen Mamoswine who had broken free from his prison. Though it still seemed dazed from being frozen.

"Snap out of it Mamoswine!" Crystal commanded, trying to bring her Pokémon around.

Harry and Ireth smirked at each other.

"Absol, use Razor Wind!"

"Lucario, attack with Extreme Speed!"

While Absol's blade started glowing white, Lucario disappeared so fast he left an after-image. When he reappeared he slammed his paw into Mamoswine, knocking him to the ground with a large 'thud'. It stood up though almost immediately, only to receive the powerful attack from Absol, knocking him out.

"And the winners are the challengers Harry and Ireth!" The referee said and then vanishing in a flurry of snowflakes.

"Okay, new goal in life, find out if that guy is a stalker and why he's stalking us." Harry muttered to Ireth who snickered again.

"Well done you two." Crystal said walking up, her Pokémon already in its Pokeball. "For beating me, I present you with the Ice Badge." She handed over two blue snowflakes, which found their homes on Harry's bracelet and Ireth's circlet. "Head towards the mountains, there's a way into the League from Glacies. Just present your Badges to the scanner and the door will open. There are still Wild Pokémon in the caves, so be careful. I wish you two luck and look forward to see you at the League." Crystal finished.

Thanking her, the duo left and headed straight for the Pokémon Center to get their Pokémon healed as well as to get something to eat. After an hour, they left the Center and headed to the gates. Looming before them were giant metal doors big enough that a house would fit comfortably between them. Decorating the door was a giant mural of every Pokémon in the world, or at least the known ones. In front of the doors was Naomi holding the incubator.

"Hey, guys, I just wanted to wish you both luck. I'll try to be there for your battles." Naomi said, giving each one a hug.

"Thanks, we'll see you there." Harry grinned.

Naomi laughed, "Sorry I can't stay long; I wanted to take the Egg to Nurse Joy to check over." The orange haired girl waved goodbye as she ran off.

The two Trainers waved until she was out of their sight before turning back to the huge stone doors.

"Look there." Ireth pointed. Following her gaze, Harry saw a small, black lense on the door.

As they approached it, it flashed. "Present your Badges please." A robotic voice said. Shrugging, Harry held out his wrist, twisting it to let the scanner get all the Badges.

"Badges verified. All authentic, welcome to the Naturis League Road." With that, the doors slowly opened and the two slipped inside.


	17. Chapter 17

Harry and Ireth made their way through the cavern, admiring it. The rock surrounding them was a gray stone with torches lighting the way. They cast a glow that made the rock glitter like diamonds. There were also side caves that branched off, but since the torches didn't go that way, they left them alone. The cavern itself was huge! The doors leading into it didn't do it justice.

"I bet you could fit a couple houses in here side by side." Ireth said, glancing around.

"Got that right. It's a good thing the torches are here." Harry added. "Without them we probably would've taken a side cave and gotten lost forever!"

Ireth mock-groaned, "Spending the rest of my life in a dark cave with you? Gods take me now!"

"Oh ha ha…huh?" Harry suddenly stopped, looking around.

"What's wrong?" Ireth asked, glancing around herself. They were in one of the few areas of the cave that had no side branches anywhere. She even looked up and only saw stalactites glistening in torch light. "Harry there's nothing here. What's up?"

"I'm not sure…but there is something here." Harry said, staring at one of the walls.

Remembering that her friend has a knack for sensing weird stuff, she believed him. "Okay, so something on the other side of that wall? Should was go back and take a side cave to try to get to that area?" Ireth asked. Harry didn't answer but put his hand through the wall itself. "An optical illusion? Should we take it?"

But before the teen could answer her, a loud roar shook the cave. They had to jump back to avoid a Flamethrower attack. A large bluish and yellow Pokémon landed right in front of them. It reminded Harry of a hammerhead shark and a dragon put together.

"Harry that's a Garchomp, a Ground/Dragon type, they're strong and vicious." Ireth said, always knowledgeable about Dragon-type Pokémon.

The emerald eyed teen grabbed a Pokeball, "I got it. Servine, I choose you!"

Garchomp just growled at the Grass-type. _"Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed."_ Servine taunted his opponent.

"Servine now's not the time to tease the Wild Pokémon. Use Leaf Blade!"

Servine's tail began to glow green and he took off towards Garchomp, slamming his tail into the back of the Pokémon, knocking him down.

"We did it!" Harry cheered.

"Uh…I don't think so." Ireth said nervously. "I think all you did was made it mad."

Growling louder than before, Garchomp stood up and tried to swipe at Servine, who was dodging with the grace of a snake. The Ground / Dragon type though, managed to get a hit and tossed Servine into the cave wall, making a couple large rocks land on the prone form.

"Servine!" Harry called, worried.

Deciding that the other was no longer a threat, Garchomp turned its glaring eyes at the two humans who were frozen by the look. But before he could attack, a wave of leaves attacked Garchomp and knocked him away from Harry and Ireth.

"That was Leaf Storm." Ireth said, a little out of breath from the scare.

"Servine?" Harry called, looking at the pile of rocks where his Pokémon had been buried. But Servine wasn't there, another Pokémon was.

"Servine evolved!" The black haired girl cheered happily.

The Pokémon was primarily pale-green and looked a lot like a snake. It had curled pale-green patterns on the sides of its face and snout, and small, pointed pale-yellow extensions on the back of its head. Its face and upper neck were white colored, and curled, tendril-like dark blue extensions spread out from the sides of its lower neck, forming a curling patter lower down the sides of its lower neck. It reminded Harry of a fancy collar. Its eyes were narrow and red. The upper section of its body was dark blue and pale-green. Curled pale-yellow patterns adorned its body, and a sprig-like feature of several leaves tip its tail. It had no legs, and had small stubby hands that looked more like a decoration. Harry brought out his Pokedex while Ireth was fawning over the noble-looking Pokémon: **Serperior, the Regal Pokémon. They raise their heads to intimidate opponents but only give it their all when fighting a powerful opponent.**

_"Are you two alright? That Garchomp didn't hurt you did it?"_ Serperior asked, looking them over.

Harry hugged the Grass-type, relieved that he was alright, "No, thanks to you we're fine."

"Uh…I don't think so." Ireth said eyes wide.

All three turned to Garchomp, who was actually glowing slightly red in anger. "Once again, I believe you just made him angry, well, angrier." Ireth said conversationally, like when she first met Harry and they were chased by the Bug-type Pokémon.

"I believe you're right." Harry said in the same tone.

Garchomp it seemed, had had enough of the humans, and gave the loudest roar they had ever heard. The vibrations were so bad that it shook the cavern, causing the stalactites to start falling. Behind them it was already caved in, and in front the rocks were falling at random patterns. Realizing what it did, Garchomp flew back to wherever it came from.

"Serperior return!" Harry called over the sound of the cavern falling apart. "Let's go!"

"Where to?" Ireth yelled, having trouble finding her balance.

"Through the wall, where else?" The teen grabbed the other's hand and pulled them through the wall, just in time because the area where they just were was completely buried.

Taking a moment to catch their breath, they stood up to see their surroundings, Harry pulling out a flashlight from his pack. One way ended about ten feet later, the other continued around a bend.

"Well, since we're here, let's go see if we can find out what I was sensing." Harry said. He glanced over at Ireth, who was writing something in a little notebook. "What are you doing?"

"Making a list of things that needed to be remembered." Ireth said matter-of-factly, scribbling something.

"Like what?" Harry asked bemused.

The lavender-eyed girl started flipping through the notebook. "#1, always send Harry to find Gym Leaders, if he can't find them, they'll find him. #2 Never take him shopping because he'll become a millionaire doing something, doesn't matter what it is he'll find a way. #3 Never let Harry near a supposed Boss of anything; he'll have them wrapped around his little finger faster than you can say 'Pikachu' (Kesorir is the one exception). #4 Trust Harry's instincts, they are always on the dot. #5 Harry has the weirdest luck of any human, so be prepared for some weird stuff to happen" She ended reading and put the notebook Harry.

Snickering, Harry says. "You forgot #6, never let Ireth talk to a bad guy; she will provoke them to try to get to start ranting just to see if they will."

Laughing they set off down the passage in higher spirits than what they were a few minutes ago. As they walked, Ireth asked, "So Harry, how's your meditation coming along? Is it helping any?"

The teen gave his friend a grin, "Tons. Every night I work on it, basically just adding Pokémon we've met to the defenses, so I think they're pretty strong now. And I haven't had any nightmares. I owe you big time for that."

Ireth grinned and gave a sweeping bow, "Glad to be of service."

After walking in silence for a minute, Harry asked, "So do you still want to get a Dragon Mastery?"

The lavender eyed girl thought for a second, "While it would be cool to get that Mastery, it's not my main focus anymore, but I'll still try to get it eventually."

"So what are you focusing on now?"

"Two things, the first is just traveling the world. I wanna see things no one else has before as well as new Pokémon." She started smirking. "The second is figuring out the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything."

Harry just had an anime sweatdrop. "Good luck with that….I think." He just rolled his eyes when Ireth started to laugh.

They walked for a few more minutes and came to the cave's exit, though it was blocked by a large rock, there were beams of light filtering through the cracks. Harry put away the flashlight and leaned against the rock. The rock shifted slightly. "I think we can move this easily, what do you think?"

Ireth copied Harry and leaned against it, making it shift even more and more light beams to enter the cave. "Yeah, I think we can. Is your feeling on the other side?" Nod. "Okay, on the count of three, give it all you got."

Nodding, they both placed their hands on the rock. "One…two…three!" As one they shoved against the rock, making it groan and finally fall. Without the rock blocking it, the light nearly blinded the two Trainers from being in the dark caves for so long.

When their eyes finally adjusted, they walked out of the cave, and two things greeted their eyes, causing them to gasp. The first was that the new cave they were in was huge, with large cracks in the ceiling to let in light. It was bright enough that they had to make sure they weren't outside. Small ponds were scattered around, their water crystal clear. Bushes with all kinds of Berries were everywhere. There were even a couple trees bearing fruit scattered around.

The second thing was that all the Legendary Pokémon were there, from Articuno to Lugia to Cresselia, every single one injured and laying in a large circle, surrounding a heavily injured Pokémon.

"Oh my…" Ireth gasped out, hand over her mouth in shock. Harry's and her eyes were impossibly wide. They made their way carefully down the stone steps, staring at all the Legendary Pokémon. Some were injured worse than the others. Though their wounds would eventually heal after many days, they would scar. As they approached, the Pokémon nearest would watch their movements.

"Harry, I recognize these wounds." Ireth whispered, fists shaking in silent fury. "Take a closer look."

The black haired Trainer leaned closer to Darkrai and examined the wounds. Long, ugly lashes decorated its body, around the wounds you could see burn marks from both fire and electricity.

"Quasso." Harry spat in anger. "What happened here?"

Thanks to the Legendary Trio of Mew, Celebi and Jirachi quickly explaining telepathically about Harry, the Legendaries knew that Harry and Ireth could be trusted and that he knew their language. Zapdos answered, _"We were trying to rescue our friend and leader Arceus."_

_"We're not sure how they got him, but these humans with whips of fire and lightning had captured Arceus and tortured him. For what we do not know." _Ho-oh went next. _"Maybe because he is the most powerful Pokémon out of all of us."_

_"When we realized what had happened_." Regigigas added, "_We invaded the humans' hideout. They attacked us with the whips and their Pokémon, but we managed to get Arceus out and we all came here to try to heal."_

_"Our friend is doing all he can, but…"_ Mesprit trailed off sadly.

"Your friend?" Ireth asked, having had Harry translate the entire conversation. "There's someone else here?"

"That would be me." A male voice said.

Harry and Ireth turned to see a teen a few years older than them walked from behind Entei, carrying bandages. He had spiky black hair under a red and white cap, deep brown eyes and was slightly tanned. He wore a short sleeve black shirt with a sleeveless blue and yellow open jacket over that, blue jeans and black and white shoes. On his shoulder was a Pikachu.

"My name's Ash and this is my buddy Pikachu."

"Pi!" _"Hello!"_


	18. Chapter 18

"Hello, I'm Ireth and this is Harry." Ireth introduced.

"Wait, is your last name Ketchum?" Harry questioned, thinking the other looked familiar. Surprised, Ash nodded yes. Harry gave a small grin, "I've heard a lot about you from your mom."

Recognition lit in Ash's eyes, "So you're the kid Mom keeps talking about. Pleased to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances." Ash went over to Arceus and started to bandage what he could, the Pokémon watching them all with pain-filled eyes. Ireth and Harry went over to help, Ireth feeding Arceus some Oran Berries from her pack for strength and energy, while Harry used different Sprays to try to heal its many burns.

As they worked, they talked, partly to get some questions answered, and partly to distract the Pokémon from their pain. "So how did you two find this place?"

"We were walking through the cave to get to the Naturis League when I sensed something." Harry began.

"Since Harry's instincts are nearly always right, we looked around a little bit and found a wall that was an illusion. But before we could go through it, we were attacked by a Garchomp. Harry fought it, but it became so mad that it caused the cavern to cave in." Ireth finished.

Ash whistled, "Close call guys, but congrats on getting to the League. I was heading that way too, but Mewtwo came to me, explained what had happened, and teleported us here." Mewtwo waved its hand from where it was leaning against Palkia. They could see that the Psychic was one of the few Legendaries with the least amount of injuries.

After a few hours of working, with not much change from Arceus, Harry stood up, "I'm gonna start working on the other Legendaries, can you two handle Arceus?"

"Yeah, though I wish we had some more help, but the Legendaries only trust me." Ash said, fishing around his backpack for something. "I'm actually surprised that they haven't attacked you two yet, injured or not. There must be something about you two that they trust."

"Understandable, not many humans would be able to resist trying to capture any one of them." Ireth said, mashing up more Berries into a paste.

"I've met three of them before, Mew, Jirachi and Celebi." At their curious looks he added, "Very long story, I'll tell you guys some other time. Now, what about our Pokémon?" Harry suggested. "They could help gather Berries or something."

Blinking, the two humans smacked their heads. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Pausing in their work, the three humans tossed their Pokeballs.

From Harry's Pokeballs came Medieon, Ninetales, Absol, Froslass, Metang and Serperior.

From Ireth's came Gardevoir, Flygon, Dragonair, Shelgon, Gyarados and Lucario.

And finally Ash's was Charizard, Glalie, Sceptile, Staraptor, and Lapras. His sixth being Pikachu of course.

After all the Pokémon got over the shock about what had happened, along with getting a quick briefing from Harry (who explained to Ash about his ability), Ash gave the orders. "Okay, I want you all to split into groups. I want one group going around the trees and bushes to try to find some Berries. Ones that give energy and heal status problems will be best but bring whatever you can find. I want another group to create bowls out of wood, stone, or whatever you can find, fill them with water and bring a few to us so we can clean some wounds, and the rest to the Pokémon so they can drink."

Ireth took over next, "I want a group to go around this cave and try to find something that can be used as bandages because we're running out. If you can't find anything, just take the old bandages, wash them out thoroughly and have one of you that know a Fire-type attack to dry them out quickly."

Harry went last, "If any of you can use a healing move or something that can calm the Legendaries, get in a group and try to calm the worst ones and work your way down."

Having their orders, all the Pokémon split up in their designated groups, thankfully none of them had any complaints about working with new Pokémon. They all worked for the rest of the day and long into the night, working at a frantic pace to try to heal all the Pokémon. The three humans would have worked themselves to an early grave if it hadn't been for Lapras, who used Sing to make everyone get some rest. They woke several hours later and were forced by their own Pokémon to eat something, even if it was just a few Berries and some water.

They checked on all the Legendary Pokémon whose injuries were starting to look a little better but they still had a long way to go. But Arceus' wounds, even with all the care of over fifteen hours of straight work, didn't change in appearance at all. What's worse was now the Pokémon's breathing was labored and he couldn't even open his eyes. The day before Arceus would watch them for a few minutes before falling back asleep, gratitude in his eyes for their help.

"Guys…I don't think Arceus is gonna make it." Ireth said in a small voice, tears running down her cheeks at the horrible truth.

Ash had tears running down his as well, "We tried our best, but I guess it wasn't good enough."

By now, every Pokémon and humans were crying, unable to tear their eyes away from the slowly dying Pokémon. Harry was taking it the hardest though.

_'Why is it that I can never save anyone? Why must I watch them die in front of me over and over?'_ The teen was shaking in suppressed fury, sadness and frustration at being helpless to help another. He then finally snapped. _'NO! I will _NOT_ allow another to die when I could have done something!'_ Harry ran over to Arceus and placed his hands on the Pokémon, causing everyone to watch him through their tears.

Harry ignored them all and started to meditate, reaching deep down in himself for something that he knew was still there, even though he was told it was gone in this world. His magic. _'Please, please help Arceus. Heal him!'_

So focused on his task that he didn't notice what was going on. Everyone else though, watched in awe as Harry started to glow white which spread over Arceus. The light was so bright that they all had to shield their eyes, though they could still feel the raw power rolling off the Trainer.

When the light died down, they stared at the sight before them in amazement. Arceus was completely healed! Not even a single scar marred his body. A surprised gasp from one of the Legendaries drew their attention around, causing their eyes to widen even more. All the Legendaries were completely healed as well.

"That was awesome! Great job Harry…Harry?" Ash said with a grin, which turned to a frown when he couldn't find the younger Trainer.

"Harry!" Ireth called, trying to find her friend.

"Keep it down to a dull roar please." A groggy voice said. Their attention was drawn back to Arceus, who was helping Harry to his feet. "Man, I feel like I just got run over by a train, then got blasted by a cannon, and finally ran straight into a brick wall." Rubbing his eyes, he glanced around. "What'd I miss?" This caused everyone to laugh at the clueless Trainer.

"Oh, nothing much Harry, you just saved Arceus from dying, as well as healed all the Pokémon's wounds. Not much really." Ireth said, wiping a tear from her eyes.

After helping him over to lean on Ash, Arceus turned to the three humans and began speaking telepathically so they all could understand him. _"I thank you for saving me and my kin. You have shown true kindness and compassion. Not many humans would have helped like you did. For this we name you all our friend and kin as well. If you ever need help, call upon us and we will answer."_ Arceus' eyes started to glow and the three Trainers and their Pokémon vanished.

Blinking at the sudden change of scenery, the three humans recalled their Pokémon. They stood in front of a huge white and red building with a Pokeball symbol over the main doors.

"Where are we?" Ireth asked, glancing around.

"That's the Naturis League building. It's where competing Trainers stay for the League." Ash answered.

Harry blinked, and then started running towards the door. "Come on guys! We need to sign up!"

Thankfully, there was no line when they entered the building. The main lobby looked just like a fancy hotel, complete with a clerk behind the desk. "Welcome to the Naturis League. Which competition are you signing up for?"

"I'm doing Singles, my name's Ash Ketchum."

"We're doing Doubles as a team, we're Harry and Ireth."

The clerk typed in their information, then gave them their room keys and their number. "The League doesn't start till tomorrow, so you have the rest of the day off. Please go to the designated locker rooms on your number, we had to split both competitions into two groups, there are so many challengers!" She laughed. "Anyway, good luck."

"I'll see you guys later, I'm gonna explore a little bit." Ash said and walked off, Pikachu waving goodbye.

"Harry, I'll check out the rooms. Why don't you call Professor Oak and the others and let them know how you're doing?" Ireth suggested.

"Good idea, I'll meet you up there later." Harry said, taking the extra room key.

After hunting for a bit, he finally found the video-phone. Typing in Oak's number, he was pleasantly surprised to see not only Oak, but Giovanni (Persian at his side) and Delilah sitting at a table playing a game.

"Hey guys!" Harry called. When they realized who was calling, they raced over to the phone.

"Harry, lad how are you doing? Where are you?" Oak asked

The emerald eyed Trainer grinned, "I'm calling from the League building."

"You made it! I'm so proud of you." Giovanni said with a grin.

Delilah, after looking him over to make sure he's alright, asked, "Have you seen Ash yet? He should be there by now."

"Oh, I've seen him alright." Harry began with a laugh, and then proceeded to explain what had happened in the cave.

"Wow, seems like you've had quite the adventure just getting there." Giovanni said with a proud look in his eye. Oak said nothing because he was typing furiously on his laptop.

Delilah just rolled her eyes at the Professor, "Just be careful and have fun. We'll be there watching you both tomorrow."

"Okay, see you guys later." Harry said, ending the call. Feeling tired again, he headed up to his and Ireth's room. Finally finding it, he was a little surprised at the look of the room. It resembled the kind of room you would find in a suite at a five star hotel in Italy. Thankfully it had separate rooms for himself and Ireth, one door already closed and he could hear her sleeping. Changing into some pj's, Harry climbed into the soft bed and was out like a light.


	19. Chapter 19

Harry woke up early the next morning thanks to the sun shining through his windows. Blinking and stretching, he stumbled out of bed and went to the windows, which were actually glass doors that led out to a balcony. Standing outside, Harry enjoyed the crisp morning breeze and looked around. The balcony overlooked a large park it seemed, the perfect size for training in. There were a couple Trainers out there with their Pokémon, though they were all asleep.

Chuckling quietly to himself, Harry went back inside to do his morning routine. Fifteen minutes later, he once again found himself beside a sleeping Ireth. Remembering waking her up, and the punishment he received afterwards, Harry decided it would be worth it to repeat.

_'Though how do I wake her up this time?'_ He mused to himself. If there could have been, a light bulb would have appeared over Harry's head and he raced out of the room. Coming back with two metal lids from the kitchen and a grin worthy of the Cheshire Cat, Harry stood by the bed. Taking a deep breath he yelled while slamming the lids together "WAKE UP LAZY BONES!" Once again, the effect was instant.

"I DIDN'T DO IT! THE FLAMING SAUSAGES MADE ME! THEY WANTED THE FLYING MUSHROOM!" Ireth screamed; running around the room like a chicken with its head cut off. Harry was rolling on the ground laughing with tears running down his face.

He froze though, when he felt it. The feeling of something wrong in the universe, the feeling that would send anyone running for the hills. He glanced up and saw Evil Incarnate! Ireth was standing there, eyes wide and shooting flames, snarling at him with multiple ticks in her forehead. Looking like that Harry decided that she would scare the crap out of Voldemort if he saw her.

"Oh crap." A freaked out Harry took off running down the hallways, and enraged Ireth right on his heels screaming "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN SKIN YOU ALIVE!" The other Trainers, who heard the commotion and opened their doors to find out what was going on, fell over laughing at the scene the two made.

"Poor kid." One Trainer said.

"Yup, glad it's not me though. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Another said.

"Or in this case Hell hath no fury like a woman deprived of beauty sleep." An older female Trainer said, making all the other Trainers nod sagely.

Thirty minutes, several apologies to both Ireth and League staff, and nursing several bumps and bruises, Harry and Ireth were sitting in the League locker rooms. The other Trainers kept shooting Harry looks of sympathy and frightened ones at Ireth, who was sitting there at peace with the world.

"You know all you would have to do to win this would be just glaring at your opponents." Harry said, placing an ice bag on a large bump. "They would head for the hills faster than you could say 'Nurse Joy.'"

"Maybe, but where's the fun in that? Maybe that'll teach you not to wake me up like that." Ireth shot him a look.

The emerald eyed teen snickered, "But it's so worth it to see you running around like that and yelling nonsense."

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember Harry, revenge is a dish best served cold." Harry shuddered at the look in her eyes, the kind that promises retribution.

Everyone stopped talking when the announcer came over the speaker. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Naturis League Pokémon Tournament! Today is the elimination round with each Trainer having only one Pokémon each. The winners will move on to the Quarter-Finals where the Trainers may use two Pokémon each. Winners of that will move to the Semi-Finals, letting Trainers use three Pokémon in the same manner that the Glacies Gym uses. These winners will move to the Final competition which will have each Trainer using four Pokémon in singles, and in Doubles two Pokémon each!" The crowd is so loud outside that the Trainers inside the locker rooms can hear them. "I wish you all luck! Let the Tournament begin!"

For the next few hours, names were called for battling. Thanks to the giant TV in the locker rooms, the waiting Trainers could see how their competition was fairing. After each win or loss, the winners' pictures moved up the tournament roster while the losers' pictures faded out. Finally, Harry and Ireth's names were called.

"This is it, you ready?" Harry asked

"I was born ready." Ireth replied.

The two clasped arms for a moment, then headed out to the arena. As they made their way to their spots, they took in the arena. Stands filled with hundreds, maybe even a couple thousand people were filled up, all cheering their heads off. The arena itself was just place dirt, nothing special to give Pokémon any advantage. Bright sunlight filled the arena thanks to it being open to the elements. Looking closely, Harry saw Oak, the Rockets, Naomi (who was holding something) and Delilah in stands. He gave them all a quick wave, which they all waved back at him with smiles on their faces.

At the other end of the field they saw the opposing Trainers; both had brown hair and were wearing casual clothes, though the girl was wearing a pink shirt and the guy wearing blue. They looked like twins.

"In the red box John and Jane! And in the blue box we have Harry and Ireth!" The crowd cheered at both teams when the announcer said their names.

Just then, the referee popped up from the ground. As he was dusting himself off, Harry turned to Ireth, "I swear that guy is following us! Doesn't he have anything better to do than stalk us?" Ireth just shrugged while laughing. Harry's reactions to the referee were always funny.

"This will be a two on two battle, each Trainer using only one Pokémon. First team to have both Pokémon KO'd or gives up, loses and the winners move on to the next round. Please send out your Pokémon!"

"Metang, I choose you!" Harry called.

"Shelgon, show 'em what you're made of!" Ireth cheered.

"Infernape, let's do this!" John yelled.

"Vaporeon, take 'em out!" Jane shouted.

The first Pokémon looked like a brown, gold and white monkey with its hair on fire. Harry's Pokedex said:** Infernape, the Flame Pokémon. Infernape's fiery crown reflects its fiery nature and its speed is unmatched.**

The second Pokémon looked like a bluish fox covered in scales with a light blue lion-mane made of fins. Its tail looked like a mermaids. Ireth's Pokedex got this one: **Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon. Vaporeon love fresh, clean water and can make their bodies melt away into the water as well.**

"And….begin!" The referee called.

"Infernape use Flamethrower!"

"Vaporeon use Ice Beam!"

"Shelgon use Protect!"

"Metang, use Psychic!"

While the Ice attack landed on Shelgon, it didn't do any damage what so ever. Metang's eyes glowed, as did the Fire attack. It froze in mid-air, and then was hurtled back towards Vaporeon, landing a hit. Though being a Water-type it didn't do that much damage.

"Shelgon, use Headbutt!" Ireth called.

"Metang, use Psychic, throw Shelgon at the other Pokémon." Harry ordered.

The Steel/Psychic nodded and glowed again, lifting up the Dragon type who started spinning in the air at a rapid pace.

"Vaporeon, get ready to dodge!" Jane said.

"Infernape, use Fire Blast to keep Shelgon away!" John yelled.

Metang made a motion like he was throwing a ball, and Shelgon shot off like a bullet. Vaporeon jumped out of the way while Infernape launched the powerful Fire attack. It didn't do anything to stop Shelgon, but it coated his form in flames.

"Oh crud." John said, realizing what had happened. It was too late for Infernape to dodge and got slammed by the powerful combo, knocking him out cold.

"Infernape is unable to battle!" The referee called as John recalled his Pokémon.

"It's all up to you Vaporeon. Use Hydro Pump!" The Water-type took a deep breath, and then launched a powerful jet of water.

"Metang use Iron Defense!" Harry called out. Just before the attack hit, Metang's body took on a steely color and it crossed its arms in front of its face. It looked like a stand-off, neither Pokémon were letting up, but they had forgotten something, or more likely, someone.

"Shelgon, use Zen Headbutt!" Ireth called.

"Oh crap I forgot about you!" Jane called in panic.

Shelgon had snuck around the two Pokémon while they were all distracted and waited for his order. At such a close range, his attack was super effective and launched Vaporeon clear out of the ring, out cold.

"Vaporeon is unable to battle! The winners are Harry and Ireth!" The referee said, raising a blue flag.

"We did it! We did it!" Harry and Ireth cheered. They turned to Jane and John and said, "Great battle guys" The two Trainers looked a little happier and nodded before walking away.

Ireth and Harry were about to go over and hug their Pokémon for a job well done, when they both started to glow. As they changed, Harry turned to Ireth and mock-glared, "That's it, no more battling for you! Every time you do a Pokémon evolves!" The crowd gave a few chuckles when they heard this.

The first Pokémon done evolving was Harry's. It was a large, teal-colored metal, quadrupedal Pokémon; its feet had three straight, white claws that it stood on. It also had a white 'X' on its face that crossed between two red eyes, giving it the impression of 'eyebrows' and a 'mustache'. Harry's Pokedex said: **Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon. Metagross has four brains in total. Combined, the four brains can breeze through difficult calculations faster than a supercomputer. This Pokémon can float in the air by tucking in its four legs.**

Ireth's Pokémon was a quadrupedal dragon-like Pokémon. It was primarily blue, but had accentuations of red and gray coloring. Its wings were a bright red. It had three spiky extensions splayed from the sides of its face. Ireth's Pokedex said: **Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. Equipped with sharp teeth and massive claws, weighs over 200 pounds, and has the fastest speed of all the Flying-type Pokémon.** Both Pokémon, Harry realized, kept their battle scars from when they were Metang and Shelgon, giving the Pokémon tough and feral looks.

"Well I'll be! Two evolutions in one go! Congratulations Harry and Ireth, you two as well Metagross and Salamence." The announcer said, clapping along with the audience.

Grinning ear to ear, Harry and Ireth recalled their Pokémon, waved to the crowd and walked back to the locker rooms.

Once they got there, they got shouts of 'Good job', 'Congrats', and 'Well done' at them from the contestants that haven't battled yet. Blushing at all the attention, they grabbed some bottled water and headed to the cafeteria, where the Trainers who have already battled sat down and relaxed, several of them having their Pokémon out to eat.

"Harry, I'll grab us a table and get us something to eat, why don't you grab whatever it is you need and spoil our Pokémon with a feast?" Ireth suggested with a grin.

"Good idea, they've certainly earned it." Harry agreed and walked off.

Ten minutes later found Harry and Ireth sitting at a table eating some fruit salad Ireth made while all their Pokémon were feasting on the special Pokefood Harry had made. Harry kept blushing every time one of their Pokémon commented on the food.

"You know one of these days; we'll either get you to stop blushing so much, or make you blush so hard you'll pass out." Ireth teased.

"Oh ha ha, make fun of the one who feeds you." Harry mock-glared, waving his fork threateningly at her. He stopped though when he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down he saw a Togetic, having already seen one in the lobby earlier and checked it out with his Pokedex. Leaning down to be eye level with it, Harry asked, "Do you need something little one?"

_"That food smells so good, may I have some?"_ She asked shyly, a light blush on her white cheeks.

Harry just grinned, "Of course you can. I'll fix you something right now." Standing back up, Togetic in his arms, Harry made his way to the food area.

"Togetic! What do you think you're doing young lady? You shouldn't have gone wondering off." A brown-haired Trainer wearing a blue and white skirt outfit came over. She looked at Harry and said, "I'm sorry she bothered you. She kept trying to go over to yours and that other girl's table. I turn my back for one second…"

Harry just laughed and handed her Togetic back, "Not a problem, she just wanted some Pokefood so I said I'll make some for her."

The girl blushed, "Um…if it wouldn't be too much trouble…could you make some for all my Pokémon? Togetic wasn't the only one trying to get to your table."

Blinking, Harry said bemusedly, "Sure, I don't have a problem with that. So they all want some Pokefood?"

"Yes please."

Before Harry could say something else, another Trainer walked up, dressed in a suit of all things, "Could you make some for mine too?"

"And my Pokémon as well." "Ours as well." "Us too!" "Pretty please?"

Harry just stood there blinking as all the Trainers in the cafeteria all came up to him, asking him to make his Pokefood for their Pokémon, their Pokémon agreeing with them eagerly. He turned to Ireth, who had appeared when he was first being bombarded, with a clueless look on his face.

The lavender eyed girl just laughed, "I can't leave you alone for one second can I? First it's flower arrangements, now it's gourmet Pokefood. At this rate, you'll be the most beloved person in the world; fan girls will follow your every movement!" She laughed harder, as did the other Trainers, when Harry started blushing while at the same time paling at the thought of fan girls chasing him.

Seeing their hopeful looks, as well as the ones all the Pokémon were sending, Harry sighed but had a smile on his face. "Okay, here's what I want you all to do. Get all the Pokémon in groups based on their types. I'll make large helpings of food specifically for that type." Nodding frantically, all the Trainers started giving their Pokémon Harry's orders while he and Ireth went to the kitchen.

"Ireth, you're gonna be my helper. I'll tell you what I need, you bring it. Got it?"

"Sir yes sir!" Ireth said, mock saluting.

The next twenty minutes were filled with frantic cooking, mixing, baking, and the like for Harry while Ireth ran herself ragged getting all the ingredients he called for. The other Trainers would be in charge of the food going to certain types. Harry created a large pot of each type of Pokefood, which he would give to the Trainers to separate into smaller bowls. New Trainers that came in were briefed about what was happening and helped out in whatever way they could.

Finally, Harry and Ireth were done. They walked out to see all the Pokémon happily eating the food made for them. All the Trainers ran up to the two and gave them either a handshake or a hug, causing the two to blush repeatedly.

"Man, thanks so much! I haven't seen my Pokémon enjoy their food like that in a long time."

"Have you ever considered being a Pokémon Chef?"

"How can we ever repay you?"

Harry held up his hands to stop the endless flow of statements and questions, "It's no big deal, I'm happy that I was able to help out. And thanks to the Berries I put in the food, all your Pokémon will get an extra boost of energy and vitamins to keep them healthy."

Ireth added, "We made tons of extra food, so if any of your Pokémon wants seconds, just go to the kitchen. All the pots are labeled for what type the food is meant for." The two made it back to their table, which was now surrounded by all the other Pokémon from the other Trainers, confusing the two. "Uh…what are you guys doing? Shouldn't you be by your Trainers?" Harry asked with a half-grin.

_"We are. They moved their tables over here."_ A Machamp said, pausing in his eating.

Harry quietly relayed the response to Ireth, who shrugged and nodded, "Okay, if your Trainers are alright with it, its fine by us."

As the Doubles elimination continued, the Trainers and Pokémon swapped stories of travels and battle between watching the matches on the huge TV. Everyone got a good laugh when Harry told them about the two times he woke Ireth up, causing the girl to whack him upside the head. She got her revenge though, when she said that Harry was the one who created the flower arrangements sold in Terra. He had to run around to avoid the fan girls he had among the Trainers. A Pidgeot finally took pity on him and picked him up, put Harry on its back and flew high into the air, causing the Trainers to fall out of their seats laughing at the look on fan girls' faces. All in all, they were having a great time together.

Harry finally returned to the ground when the announcer's voice came over the speakers, "And that concludes the Doubles Elimination! Up next is the first of the Singles Elimination! And the first Trainers are…Ash Ketchum vs. Gary Oak, both from Pallet Town!" They could all hear the crowds cheering.

"I hope Ash wins." Ireth said from her spot on the floor curled up near Salamence with Dragonair's head on her lap. After everyone had had their fill of food, they all moved the tables to the other side of the cafeteria for room just lay on their floor with their Pokémon. It didn't matter if it was yours or someone else's; they just curled up to watch the battles. Harry for example was leaning against Absol (who had drawn many admirers for her coloring, which she was enjoying) with the same Togetic from earlier in his lap with a Natu on his shoulder, playing with his hair.

"Me too. He's a cool guy." Harry added, shifting to get comfortable.

On the TV, both Trainers choose their Pokémon, Ash choosing Pikachu, while Gary called out Blastoise.

"Interesting." Murmured one of the Trainers. "Each one chose their favorite Pokémon, with them also being their very first Pokémon given to them."

"Won't Ash have the advantage? With his Pokémon being an Electric-type and everything?" Togetic's Trainers asked.

Surprisingly, Ireth answered, "Usually that may be the case, but I've heard of Gary and his rival/friendship with Ash. Gary would have made sure that his first Pokémon would be able to stand up to Electric attacks better than most Water-type Pokémon."

The battle had already started, each Pokémon firing off attack after attack, neither one getting hit nor losing any ground.

"I've heard of that too." A younger Trainer said, curled up near Harry's Serperior. The Grass-type didn't seem to mind, having curled around the kid. "They've pushed themselves all throughout their Journeys, making sure their friend was up to the challenge while also bettering themselves."

On the TV, the crowd gasped when Pikachu became coated in lightning and then charged at Blastoise, hitting it dead center with the powerful attack.

"They've still kept their friendship going, right?" Harry asked.

The suit-wearing Trainer nodded, "Of course they have, they've been best friends since they were little, I've heard. But that doesn't stop a little friendly rivalry, though they will always have the others back when they need it."

Back to the TV, they saw Blastoise, with sparks emanating from his body ('That last attack must have paralyzed Blastoise' a Trainer muttered), fired off a jet stream of water right at Pikachu. The little Electric-type just stood there, a glint of something in his eye, same as with Ash.

"What are they waiting for?" Ireth muttered. They got the answer quickly.

Right before the attack landed, Pikachu jumped high into the air and fired off a Thunderbolt straight at the water stream. The lightning, using the water, headed straight for Blastoise, who was unable to stop firing long enough to stop the arc of lightning. Combined with the water the attack was super effective, knocking the turtle-like Pokémon out cold.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee said over the cheering the crowd was doing. Ash ran out onto the field, grabbed Pikachu and twirled around in happiness at the victory. Gary recalled his Pokémon and went out onto the field. Though no one could hear what they were saying, they had a pretty good guess when the two Trainers clasped arms and grinned.

A few minutes later Ash walked into the cafeteria and was bombarded by hugs from Ireth and Harry. "Thanks guys but could you let go? You're kinda strangling me." The brown-eyed Trainer said laughing.

Harry ran off to get some food for Ash and his Pokémon while Ireth led them over to their little island of Pokémon, explaining what had been going on. Thinking their idea was great, Ash let out all his Pokémon, just in time because Harry came out with bowls of Pokefood and some fruit.

They let Ash and his Pokémon snack while they watched a couple battles on the TV. A few minutes later, Ash was finished. "That was great you two, and I haven't seen my Pokémon eat that fast since Brock made his own Pokefood."

_"Are you kidding? This food is a lot better than Brock's! And I didn't think that was possible."_ Pikachu said, patting his full stomach, which made Ash laugh.

"Come on guys, we should head to the Pokémon Center and get our Pokémon checked over." Harry said, standing up. Nodding, Ash and Ireth followed suit, recalled their Pokémon and said their goodbyes to the other Trainers.

They gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy, who beamed at all of them. "Congratulations on winning the first round. I'll take good care of your Pokémon. It'll be an hour or so for them to be fully healed."

"Not a problem Nurse Joy, we got plenty of time to kill." Ireth said. The three Trainers flopped down on the comfy couches in the waiting lobby, just chatting away.

"Well, well, if it isn't Harry and Ireth. With Ash as well it seems." A familiar male voice said.


	20. Chapter 20

Turning around, they were all surprised to see Pyro, Aqua, Trema, Ario, Bolt, Toxica, Spectra and Crystal all standing there with grins on their faces.

"Hey guys!" Harry said happily, he and Ireth running towards the Gym Leaders, Ash following at a slower pace. The duo was passed around for hugs while Ash received a couple of hugs and handshakes himself. After that, they all sat down on the couches or chairs.

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked from his spot between Toxica and Trema (the two haven't let go of him since their hugs, much to his embarrassment and the enjoyment of the others)

"We came to watch you kick butt in this competition and to cheer you on." Crystal said, her usual cold eyes showing warmth at the two.

"We wanted to be here when you two beat the Champions." Ario added.

Ireth and Harry blinked, surprised at this information. "We have to fight the Champions? Who are they?" Ireth asked.

Ash answered her, "The Champions are the greatest Trainers in their regions. For Kanto and Johto, since they share the Indigo Plateau, is Lance. Hoenn's Champion is Wallace. Cynthia is the Champion of Sinnoh, and Omnera's Champion is Astra."

"Wow, so what happens if you manage to beat them?" Harry questioned.

Pyro grinned, "Whoever beats them will be named a Pokémon Master, and one of the Greatest Trainers in the world."

"You'll get your chance to see them next time you battle; we'll be in the stands sitting with them." Aqua added.

Toxica looked at her watched, "Speaking of which, we better get to our seats, the second round is going to start soon." All the Gym Leaders waved goodbye and left out the side door, wishing the three good luck.

"Well that was a nice surprise." Ireth said happily.

"Hey kids, your Pokémon are all ready!" Nurse Joy called them. Grinning, the three Trainers ran to where the pink-haired nurse was standing with three trays with Pokeballs on them, Pikachu on her shoulder, who jumped to Ash's when he was close enough. "Left is Ash's, Harry's is middle, and Ireth's is on the right." They clipped the Pokeballs on their belts.

"Thanks a ton Nurse Joy." Ash said happily with Pikachu rubbing his cheek.

"Yes, thanks Nurse Joy." Harry and Ireth said. Nurse Joy smiled and went back to her post.

Ash fixed his hat, "Well, now that we have our Pokémon –"

"ASH!" A familiar feminine voice yelled.

Harry and Ireth started laughing as Ash was tackled to the ground by his mother, who was asking questions at the speed of light. It seemed that Ash could understand her because he kept turning different shades of red.

"MOM! I'm fine, could you please let me up?" Ash said patting his mother's back.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey." Delilah gushed, helping her son to his feet then brushing him down.

"It's good to know Delilah never changes when it comes to her son." Another familiar voice said.

Recognizing it, Harry and Ireth turned around to see Professor Oak and Giovanni, Persian at his side, walking up to the two with smiles on their faces. Harry was about to go hug the two humans, but was bowled over by the feline Pokémon.

"And it's good to know that Persian hasn't changed when it comes to her cub." Giovanni joked. He turned to Ireth. "You must be Harry's battle partner, Ireth, correct? I don't believe we were properly introduced last time we met."

"Yes sir. You must be Professor Oak." Ireth guessed, smiling at the Pokémon Professor.

Oak laughed, "Yup got it in one. We just got here so we came to say a quick hello before we went to our seats. Jesse, James, and Meowth are holding them for us."

Attention was drawn back to Harry who was trying to get Persian off of him. It seemed she kept asking questions just like Delilah was doing. "I'm fine Persian…yes I have been eating right…no I'm not deathly ill…Oh those? That came from waking Ireth up." The teen finally freed himself and was standing behind Ireth for protection.

The announcer's voice came over the speakers, "The quarter-finals of the Doubles Tournament will start in a few minutes. Spectators, please return to your seats. Trainers, please head to your locker rooms."

"I guess we better get going." Oak said. He and Delilah left with Persian. Giovanni, though, stayed behind, whispering something in Harry's ear. The black-haired teen looked confused but nodded to whatever the Rocket Boss said.

"Come on Harry! We're one of the first pair to battle." Ireth called from down the hallway, Ash at her side. Harry gave a quick hug to Giovanni and then raced down the hall.

"What did he want Harry?" Ash asked.

Catching his breath, he replied, "He just wanted to ask me something important after the battle and to tell us good luck, he also said that his Rockets haven't found Kesorir yet."

The two nodded and they continued walking/jogging towards the locker rooms, seeing it was already filled with Trainers.

"Well, we better get going Ireth." Harry said to his friend.

The lavender eyed girl grinned, "We got this in the bag."

"Hey you two." Ash said. "I'm gonna be taking a seat in the coach's bench behind you guys. The TV's in here don't do battles justice, not like watching them in real life."

"Fine by us, let's go." Ireth said, dragging Harry behind her, Ash took a side door to the coach's bench. The second they walked outside, the crowd went wild with cheers.

"Wow, that's kinda weird." Harry muttered, staring at them all.

As they walked to their spots, Ireth saw something, "Hey Harry, look. It's the Leaders with the Champions."

Following her gaze, Harry saw them. The first was a guy with spiky red hair wearing a dark blue outfit with orange lines, black boots, and a black cape with a red underlining. He had a stern face but looked eager for the upcoming battles.

The second was another guy. He had teal hair that was covered by a strange white hat. He wore a blue and white shirt, the blue fading to white, and light purple pants. He also wore a cape like the first one, but his was white with blue underlining. He had a small smile on his face as he glanced around.

The last two Champions were girls. The first girl had long, light blond hair, her bangs covered part of her left eye. She was wearing a black tank-top, over than was a floor length black jacket that had black feathers at the end of the sleeves and coat, which was only held together by one black button under her chest. Her pants were black and her shoes were, you guessed it, black heels.

She was talking to the other Champion. She had long hair too, bright silver, it was held with a silver tie in the middle, her bangs fell gracefully on either side of her face to her shoulders. She wore a form fitting dress with long flared sleeves that faded from purple to yellow with a silver star in the middle, the dress stopping mid thigh, and slender black, heeled boots.

"I wonder who's who?" He whispered to Ireth. She just shrugged, saying 'I have no clue' without words.

Making it to their spot, they saw their opponents coming out. They were both guys, one wore a black and red shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. The other Trainer wore a very fancy green suit.

"What is it with people thinking they can battle in clothes like that?" Ireth asked, shaking her head. Harry didn't say anything, knowing it would wiser if he didn't try to talk fashion with a girl.

The referee appeared in the same manner as before (causing Harry to start twitching when he saw it was, once again, the same one). He was just about to speak, when…

BANG!

Hundreds of puffs of smoke clouded the arena, making everyone temporarily blind. When the smoke finally cleared, Harry and Ireth were shocked to see hundreds of the Quasso goons, complete with whips, everywhere with their Pokémon out. With them threatening people, the Trainers in the audience and in the arena couldn't send out their Pokémon to help.

"I told you I would have my revenge, you little brats." A cold voice said. Kesorir appeared from behind a bunch of grunts, two elites flanking him. He motions to Harry, and the elites grab him, causing multiple members of the audience to cry in outrage. Kesorir walks to the middle of the area, the elites dragging Harry, ripping his shirt off in the process.

"What's the matter Kesorir? Can't fight your own battles so you send thugs to do your dirty work?" Harry spat angrily.

"You have been a thorn in my side long enough boy." The Quasso Boss snarls. "And now to make an example of you so no one else will ever challenge Team Quasso!" He grabs one of the whips from a grunt. The elites threw Harry to the ground; he didn't even have a chance to stand up when the first lash started.

Pain. That's all the registered at first, mind blowing pain. It was like having a Crucio used on him in concentrated form. He could feel his blood running down his back with each lashing. He could also feel his skin burning from the contact with the red-hot whip. All the while Kesorir continued to scream, "Everything was perfect! We were going to rule the world. But thanks to you, my company is in ruins, my plans destroyed! I'll make sure you feel every bit of pain I felt!" To Harry's credit, he didn't once scream, though he did cringe horribly and glare at Kesorir.

The audience could only watch in stunned horror at the torture the black-haired teen was going through. Harry's friends were taking it the hardest, cringing with phantom pain whenever the whip landed with a sickening sound on his skin. "We have to do something!" Aqua whispered fiercely, tears running down her cheek.

"But what can we do? These goons have everyone hostage. They'll use those whips on the audience members if we try to interfere." Ario said, tears falling from his eyes as well.

"It's time you die brat! Slowly and painfully!" Kesorir roared, getting the whip to wrap around Harry. Feeling the red-hot whip around his torso and not letting go, Harry finally screamed. Those screams were the stuff of pain-filled nightmares that would haunt the audience members for many months afterwards.

_'Pain…why is it always pain when someone tries to kill me?'_ Harry mused to himself while he was still screaming. _'Help…I need help…'_

_'We hear you little one. Hold on.'_ A voice echoed in Harry's mind.

_'What?...That voice…Arceus!'_

Everyone was distracted at the loud roar that echoed from the sky. They were shocked to see the Legendary Pokémon Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina fly out of a hole in the fabric of reality.

"That's right!" Ireth exclaimed, tear tracks on her face. She turned to Ash, who nodded back at her. The two started to concentrate, calling for help.

More roars, and every Legendary Pokémon appeared, shocking everyone once again. Mewtwo created a Shadow Ball and threw it at the whip Kesorir was holding, causing it to disintegrate to dust. Cresselia and Darkrai, as carefully as they could, picked up the near- unconscious Harry and brought him over to Ash and Ireth. The second he was set down, all his Pokémon came out, determined to protect their Trainer, Ireth's and Ash's came out as well. All the Psychic Legendaries glowed, causing all the whips to disintegrate.

Without the threat of the whips, every single Trainer in the stadium called out their Pokémon, forcing all the grunts into a circle in the middle of the stadium with their own Pokémon.

Lugia spoke telepathically so everyone in the stadium could hear him. "_You have tortured Pokémon as well as humans. You also attacked one of our friends. You will not leave this area alive."_

Kesorir, eyes wide and crazy, made to run at Harry and finish was he started. He didn't even get three steps when Arceus fired his signature attacks at the Quasso goons. They didn't have time to scream before they were all gone, their Pokémon as well.

_"They will never again walk this world. Their Pokémon are scattered around the world, Wild once again without any memory of what they were forced to do."_ Arceus said.

Once that was done, several of the Legendaries went over to Harry's group. Celebi, Mew, Latios and Latias used their healing abilities on Harry, soothing his pain but unable to heal him fully.

"Thanks guys." Harry said voice hoarse. The four Legendaries just nuzzled their friend.

"Well…" The announcer started in a broken voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. "The Tournament will be postponed for a few hours while Harry gets checked over. And I for one thank him for the courage he has shown today and before, standing up to those horrible people."

Harry is helped up by Ireth, who he leaned on, unable to stand by himself. Ash stood close by in case an extra hand was needed. Harry turned to the Legendaries, "Thanks a million everyone."

_"You are very welcome Harry. We will see you soon little one." _Arceus said. He nuzzled Harry for a moment and then vanished with the other Legendaries.

A few hours later Harry was standing in the locker room with Ireth, finally let out of the 'evil' Nurse Joy's clutches. Ash had to go get ready for his own battle. He would have missed it if it wasn't for Harry pushing him out the door.

"You sure you're okay Harry?" Ireth asked concerned.

Looking like half a mummy with all the bandages he had, Harry laughed and replied, "Yes, I'm feeling fine. Nurse Joy is very thorough. I hurt like heck though, but I'll live. Plus after our battle they're making me go to the hospital." He gave a strange look, like he was constipated at the thought of going to see the doctors.

Ireth started to snicker at his look. Shaking her head, she stood up, "Come on, our battle is gonna start soon." Still very weak because of what had happened, Harry still had to lean on her to walk.

They walked out into the bright sunlight of the arena and nearly turned deaf because of all the cheers. Stunned, the two just stood there for a few minutes. Ireth then smirked and turned to her friend, "I think they were concerned about you."

"Ya think?" Harry replied with a snicker. They made their way to their spots, but there was already someone there, their opponents from before.

"We've talked it over." The suit-wearing one began. "And we believe you deserve to go to the Finals more than us."

"What?" The two flabbergasted Trainers asked.

"Not only did you stand up to that jerk Kesorir." The other trained started, "But you saved everyone here along with the Pokémon. And before you say it was the Legendaries that did it, who called them here in the first place?" He smirked at their faces. "Good luck and kick butt in the finals!" He ordered before walking away.

The suit Trainer had explained what they were doing to the referee, who nodded. "Winners by forfeit, Harry and Ireth!" The crowd went absolutely nuts with their cheers for the duo.

"Well, I guess we're going to the Semi-Finals Harry." Ireth grinned. Her happy expression turned into a confused one at Harry's put-out look. "What's up?"

"I was hoping to avoid a trip to the hospital by battling, but I guess you can't have everything in life." He sighed dramatically, making Ireth snicker.

"Come on drama queen." Ireth said, pulling him out of the arena. The ambulance was already waiting for them.

"Up you get kid." One of the paramedics said, helping Harry onto the stretcher. He was quickly hooked up to an IV. "This is gonna put you to sleep, that way it's easier for all of us when we start to work on you. You'll wake up sometime tomorrow."

Harry only heard bits and pieces of what the other said before he was out like a light.


	21. Chapter 21

The first thing Harry was aware of was the voices. He couldn't make out any words, it sounded more like buzzing to him, but he did recognize some of the voices. He opened his eyes, unable to see very clearly at first. He could make out several colored blurs. Harry tried to sit up, with got everyone's attention.

"Harry!" Multiple voices cried out in surprise, relief and joy.

"That's my name….anyone want to hand me my glasses?" He croaked out, voice still hoarse and trying to sit up. Several pairs of hands helped him sit up against numerous pillows. His glasses were placed on his face while someone held up a glass of water.

Savoring the cool liquid, Harry finally looked around the room. He was in a large hospital room, nothing spectacular about it. Though it was filled with several people either standing or sitting in chairs. Ireth, Ash and Delilah on one side, Giovanni, Persian and Oak on the other. At the foot of his bed was Naomi who was holding a Pokémon, and behind her was the Gym Leaders and the three Rockets.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Not much, you just scaring the crap out of all of us." Naomi said with a smirk, cuddling her Pokémon. To Harry it looked like a blue and cream beach ball with a face. Naomi laughed when she saw him staring. "This is Arctic, a Spheal. She hatched a few days ago on my way up here."

"You had us all very worried Harry." Oak said. "They had to operate on you for several hours, working to get the burnt and dead skin off."

"They said that you'll be fine, though very sore and weak for a few days. You'll also have the scars for the rest of your life." Delilah added.

Seeing their sad faces, Harry was quick to reassure them, "So what if I got a couple new scars, it was worth it to see them going down like that." This seemed to perk them up a bit. Harry turned to Ash. "How was your battle? Sorry I missed it."

The older teen just laughed, "Don't worry about it, I won easily and then came straight over here, same as everyone else." Just then, his stomach, along with Harry's, started to growl. Everyone laughed at the faces the two made.

"Come on Ash. You and the kids will help me with getting food for everyone, Oak, you're coming too." Delilah said, standing up.

"Why me?" He mock-whined.

"Who else is going to pay?" She asked sweetly, causing everyone to snicker. Pouting, he followed Delilah and the teens out the door. At the mention of food, the Rocket trio chased after them, waving goodbye to Harry.

"Harry, we'll be back in an hour, there's something we need to do." Spectra said, leading the Leaders out.

So now only Giovanni and Persian were with Harry. After a minute of silence, Harry cleared his throat. "So…there was something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes…" Giovanni started. He almost looked nervous, but Persian gently prodded him. "I know, I know. Harry…I've grown quite fond of you. So have Persian and all my Rockets. And….well…"

"Yeah..." Harry said, wondering where this was going.

"So, I wanted to know…wanted to ask you…" The man seemed to be having trouble finding the words.

_"Oh for heaven's sake."_ Persian shook her head at her Trainer. She turned to Harry. _"He wants to know if you wouldn't mind being adopted by him._"

Speechless, Harry turned to Giovanni, and shakily asked, "Is what she said…true?"

Even without understanding his Pokémon, the Rocket Boss nodded, "It would make me the happiest man on earth, if I could call you 'son'."

Shocked, though grinning ear to ear, Harry launched himself at Giovanni, who wrapped the teen up in a hug, mindful of his injuries. "I take that as a 'yes'." He laughed out.

Their bonding moment was broken by the sound of clapping and the flash of a camera. Blinking, the two looked over at the door to see everyone was back with food, Ireth holding up a camera. "I told you revenge is a dish best served cold! Blackmail!" She cackled.

Everyone there just had an anime sweatdrop at the girl's antics.

"Anyway, everyone sit down and I'll pass out the food." Delilah said. Grabbing either a chair or just sitting on the floor, the Ketchum Matriarch dished out some pasta for everyone. Thankfully, Harry's bed wasn't that high off the ground, so he could see the people on the floor. He noticed four new comers.

"Hey, aren't you guys the Champions?" Harry asked, petting Meowth and Pikachu (who had jumped up onto the bed almost immediately when they returned).

The one with spiky red hair laughed, "Yeah, I'm Lance."

The teal haired one went, "I am Wallace."

"Cynthia." The blonde one said.

And finally the silver haired one went, "Astra's my name."

"We went and got them, they were eager to meet you and Ireth." Bolt said between bites.

Wallace nodded, "We've heard a lot of good things about you two from the Leaders."

"Plus, we wanted to make sure you were alright after what had happened." Cynthia said, concern showing in her visible eye.

"I'm alright, though every time I move I get a twinge of pain, but that should go pretty soon."

"I hope so," Astra said. "We got the Tournament postponed until tomorrow. They needed to fix up the arena, plus to give you time to relax and heal."

"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Ash asked.

Everyone thought for a minute, then Oak grinned, "I know! I spy with my-"

"NO!" Everyone but Harry and Ireth yelled, shocking the two. Seeing their confused looks, Lance explained, "Never, ever let that man play 'I spy', he gives the hardest names he can to the simplest of items." Everyone shuddered at some shared memory.

"Well…how about you guys tell some stories?" Naomi suggested, feeding Arctic from a bottle. "I'm sure, as Champions and Gym Leaders, you guys have great stories to tell."

And that's how the rest of the day passed. Some stories got them gasping from excitement, others laughing so hard they had tears coming out their eyes.

"Like this one time," Lance was explaining. "I was trying to teach my Aerodactyl how to use Flamethrower. But the poor guy couldn't get it and we were both getting frustrated. I told him 'Just aim and fire! Destroy the stupid target!' I didn't realize that I was standing next to the target…"

Laughter from everyone, "So, did Aerodactyl use Flamethrower?" Ash asked, snickering between words.

"Oh yeah he did. Burnt my hair right off! It took me ages to grow it back." Lance waved his arms dramatically, causing several people to fall out of their chairs at the scene, laughing until tears fell from their eyes.

All in all, the Trainers and guests all had a great time. Finally after several hours of storytelling, they left to let Harry get some sleep.

Once the room was empty, Harry's Pokémon came out of their Pokeballs. Medieon, Ninetales and Froslass all cuddled up with him on his bed. Serperior curled around it, laying his head near Harry's. Absol and Metagross took position on either side of his bed.

"Hey guys, sorry about the scary I gave you." Harry said, petting the Pokémon on his bed.

_"Just don't do it again little one."_ Serperior ordered, staring at him.

_"I don't think I've ever been that scared Papa."_ Ninetales said softly, nuzzling his stomach.

Absol fixed him with a piercing glare, _"If you ever do something like that again, I'll never let you get off my back or out of my sight. You'll have to stay there for the rest of your life, putting up with me being a mother-hen."_ At Harry's incredulous look, all his Pokémon started to laugh.

_"We love you Harry and we don't like seeing you hurt."_ Medieon said, curled up by Harry's side.

"I promise I will try my best to stay out of trouble guys. Though usually trouble always finds me."

_"Then we'll just have to keep a closer eye on you." _Metagross replied, a warm tone in his robotic voice.

"Thanks guys." Harry yawned out. "Bedtime I think…see you tomorrow."


	22. Chapter 22

Harry woke up early the next morning, his Pokémon still sound asleep surrounding him. Moving experimentally, he was pleasantly surprised to find only a dull ache, nothing like the pain he was in yesterday. Leaning back against his pillows, Harry turned to look out the window and watch the sunrise. The few clouds on the horizon took on a reddish glow, making them look like fire against the multicolored sky. The mountains that surrounded the League turned gold in the morning light.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Startled by the voice, Harry turned towards the door to see the Champions walking into the room, Cynthia holding a package while the others held trays filled with food for breakfast. Lance started to speak, making Harry realize it was him that asked the question. "We wanted to surprise you when you woke up, but you beat us to it."

"Yeah, I usually wake up because of the sun, but I haven't enjoyed a sunrise in a long time." Harry explained, gratefully taking one of the trays from Wallace. As the group started eating, the emerald eyed Trainer asked, "Hey Cynthia, what's in the package?"

The blonde-haired Champion laughed, "A present for you when you're done eating."

Before he could question more, Nurse Joy walked into the room. "Good morning everyone."

"Morning Nurse Joy." Was chorused right back at her.

Giving a smile, she turned to Harry. "Would you mind if I took your Pokémon to get them checked over? I never got to come over yesterday; it was busy at the Center."

"No problem Nurse Joy." Harry said. Thankfully, all his Pokémon were awake because of the smell of food. "Can you guys go with Nurse Joy? I'm sure you'll find breakfast at the Center." Nodding, the Pokémon followed the Nurse out of the room.

Another nurse came in, her arms full of bandages, "Okay Harry. I'm going to change your bandages. Would you like to shower before I put on the new ones?"

"Yes please ma'am." Harry said.

Nodding, she placed the new bandages on the end of his bed and started working on his old ones. They wrapped completely around his torso. "When you shower, don't use soap on your wounds or they will sting. Just take a washcloth and gently pat them down. When you're done, just push the 'Call' button over on the wall. I'll be back to put on your new bandages." And with that, the nurse left taking the old bandages to be disposed of.

Looking down, Harry could see the ugly marks that circled his body. At the moment they were a flaming red, the edges almost black in color.

Lance whistled, "Man that got you good Harry." Wincing in sympathy, the other Champions nodded.

"Oh well, I'm still here aren't I?" Harry said cheerfully, slowly getting out of bed towards the bathroom.

"Here Harry." Cynthia handed him the package. "It's some new clothes; your other ones were burnt and torn beyond repair."

"Thanks guys." Harry said with a grin and went into the bathroom. Quickly doing his routine, Harry stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he stood in front of the mirror, somehow not having fogged up because of the steam from the water. His front was covered in whip marks, a darker color because the whip wrapped around him, and he knew the ones on his back would be lighter but there would be a lot more of them.

Shaking his head, he opened up the package. After putting on everything but the shirt, he admired the new outfit. The shirt was a white muscle shirt etched with tribal Pokémon in different colored threads all over. The pants were blue jeans with a golden tribal Arceus running up the lower left pant leg, and black boots. He also put on the gold belt that came with the outfit. He even got white and gold wrist bands, which he slapped on.

Harry finally stepped out of the bathroom and saw that they were a more people in his room. Everyone from yesterday was in the room except Ireth and thankfully the nurse was back along with Nurse Joy with his Pokémon in their Pokeballs. With practiced precision, she bandaged Harry up, who put on the new shirt gratefully. "Okay, the doctor said as long as you take it easy, you may go. Good luck with your battles." The nurse said and left.

"Looking good Harry." Ash grinned.

"They look great; we were worried that they wouldn't fit." Astra said happily.

Harry smiled and nodded, "They fit perfectly, thanks guys." He took the Pokeballs from Nurse Joy, who gave him a swift hug for good luck and she left to go back to the Center. Harry looked around, "Anyone seen Ireth?"

Cynthia laughed, "She's changing into her new outfit. She got blood on her outfit yesterday so we got her a new one as well."

Harry just rolled his eyes, "We'll be here for a while, if I know Ireth like I think I do."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ireth's voice came from the doorway. Her hair was the in the same style as always. She now wore a lilac, single strap shirt with only one sleeve that flared at her wrist. It had silver flower petals falling across it, black ankle length pants with flower petals in different colors falling across the bottom part of her pants, and black shoes. Her Pokeballs were on the silver belt she wore.

Harry answered her question with a smirk, "It's just that you have an addiction to shopping, so you always take forever to try something on." Those who knew Ireth like Harry started laughing at the true statement.

"Oh ha ha. Remember Harry, revenge is a dish best served, in this case, very cold." She warned, causing Harry to gulp slightly.

"Anyway…come on guys. We got Semi-Finals to win!" Harry cheered, making Ash and Ireth cheer as well.

Fifteen minutes later found Harry and Ireth back in the locker rooms. "This is it, we beat them, and we get to battle the Champions." Harry said, fiddling with his bracelet. He was grateful that it managed to avoid the whip and not get destroyed.

"I feel like there should be dramatic music playing or something." Ireth joked. "Anyway, let's give it our all."

They were about to head out of the room, when they got a sudden chill down their spine, like they were being watched.

"Uh, Ireth, do you feel that?"

"What? The feeling of impending doom? The feeling that we might not make it out alive? The feeling of unimaginable horrors about to be unleased?"

"Yeah, that feeling."

The two shared a loo, then slowly turned around. Staring at the doors leading back out into the main League building, they jumped when the doors started to shake, furious pounding on the other side. Looking on either side of them, they saw the rows of lockers starting to shake with all the vibrations.

They slowly started to back away, when it happened. A horror beyond all other horrors was unleashed.

Fangirls.

"There he is!" "Harry we love you!" "Marry me!" "I want his gorgeous eyes!" "Have my child!"

"WTF? I'm just a kid!" Harry yelled, backing up with Ireth. They were surrounded by dozens of fangirls, each with hearts in their eyes.

Ireth turned to Harry, "Harry, I love you like a little brother, but sacrifices must be made." She grabbed Harry's arm. "HERE YOU GO LADIES!" And she tossed him into the Sea of Fangirls, laughing as she ran out of the room.

Harry meanwhile, shivered in terror at the look in their eyes. "Oh crap." And he ran, ravenous fangirls on his heels.

Ireth meanwhile, had made it outside and went straight to the referee and explained what had happened. Wincing in sympathy he nodded before raising his mic. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the battle will be postponed until we can save Harry." Gasps around the audience. "It seems that he is currently being chased by fangirls." The audience cringed. "We'll send a search and rescue party."

Several hours later, a traumatized Harry was found in his room in the fetal position, rocking back and forth with kiss marks all over his face. He kept muttering, 'No more hugs, no more kisses.' Ireth managed to calm him down enough to battle, promising to keep the rapid fangirls away. The fangirls meanwhile, had been given their own chibi-Harry plushies to cuddle to keep them calm and from attacking Harry.

The duo were back in the locker room, Harry peeking over his shoulder every two seconds. _'Man, I'm more paranoid than Moody now!'_

"Don't worry Harry. Officer Jenny checked this whole area, no fangirls anywhere." Ireth said, snickering silently.

"I am so going to get you back for that…" Harry growled threateningly.

"Survival of the fittest Harry, as well as quick thinking." Ireth smirked. "Come on, let's get this battle done. You can plot your revenge all you want later."

Falling in step, the duo walked of the locker rooms and out onto the arena floor. If they thought the crowd was nuts before, they were tamed compared to now. Everyone was screaming, cheering, waving banners, all for them.

"I think we've entered the Twilight Zone." Ireth whispered.

"The 'What' Zone?"

"Never mind."

"Here they are folks!" The announcer yelled over the noise. "Two of the three heroes of the Naturis League, Harry and Ireth! And boy are we glad to see Harry in good health after both attacks." Said teen just blushed redder than a Charmander along with shuddering at the memory of evil fangirls. "And our other challengers Serina and Ian! Would the Trainers please step forward to shake hands?"

As they made their way over to the middle, Harry quietly asked, "Why didn't they make us do that before?"

"It would have taken too much time with the number of people they had before." She whispered back.

The two groups shook each others' hands. "Let's make this a great battle guys." Ian said with a grin.

Serina looked at Harry, "Are you alright? What happened was horrible…" Ian's eyes showed that he was worried too

Surprised at the concern being shown to him by strangers, Harry gave a smile to set them at ease, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just don't expect me to run a marathon any time soon." The other three Trainers laughed. "Anyway, good luck to us all." The two groups parted ways back to their boxes in high spirits for a great Battle.

Once they were back at their spots, the referee jumped down from his spot in the stands to his area. Ireth slapped her hand over Harry's mouth before he could start his rant. "I know, the Universe is out to get you by having the referee stalk you everywhere." Harry just pouted behind her hand.

"This will be a three on three battle, similar to how the Glacies Gym uses. The first Trainer to have their Pokémon KO'd will send out the third one. The first group who either forfeits or has all their Pokémon faint loses."

"Medieon, show 'em what you're made of!"

"Gardevoir, let's win this!"

"Typhlosion, take 'em out!"

"I chose you Meganium!"

Harry whipped out his Pokedex at the same time Ireth did. Harry pointed it at the first Pokémon, which was a blue and cream, bipedal Pokémon with what seemed a ring of fire around its neck. **Typhlosion, the Volcano Pokémon. If its rage peaks, it becomes so hot that anything that touches it will instantly go up in flames.**

The other Pokémon was a quadrupedal, green Pokémon. It had a pink flower with white edges around its neck with two stamen-like protrusions sprouting from the top of its nose. **Meganium, the Herb Pokémon. Meganium have the ability to fully restore dried up plants and bring them back to life with its breath.**

"Now, let the battle-"

But before the referee could officially start the battle, a strange thing happened in the sky above the stadium. Once more, a rip in the fabric of reality appeared and out came all the Legendary Pokémon. They all circled the arena before stopping, those who couldn't fly were sitting on the backs of the Pokémon who could.

_"Sorry for the interruption, but we wanted to see Harry's and Ireth's battles for ourselves."_ Arceus said with an almost sheepish look. The entire stadium gave an anime sweatdrop.

"Um… no problem." The announcer said, slightly confused. "Anyway, let the battle begin!"

"Meganium, use Razor Leaf!"

"Typhlosion attack with Flamethrower!"

"Dodge with Teleport Gardevoir and then use Psychic!"

"Medieon, use Quick Attack followed up with Shadow Ball!"

The Fire and Grass attack somehow merged into one, creating flaming leaves. But that didn't do them much good when Gardevoir and Medieon simply vanished from sight.

"Where'd they go?" Ian asked, looking everywhere, his Pokémon doing the same.

"Behind you!" Serina cried too late. Medieon slammed into the Fire-type and then launched him into Meganium with the Ghost attack. Trapped in a pile of tangled limbs, they were easy picking for Gardevoir when she appeared, eyes glowing. The two Pokémon were levitated up in the air and then were slammed back together again. Gardevoir lowered her arms, causing the two Pokémon to crash to the ground. Meganium was knocked out, but Typhlosion was still standing. And mad by the ferocity of his flames around his neck.

"Meganium is unable to battle. Serina chose your next Pokémon!" The referee said.

"Return Meganium!" Serina called, putting away the Grass-type's Pokeball. "Time to shine Linoone!"

Harry and Ireth gasped, seeing the very familiar scarred Pokémon. "Ireth, isn't that?"

"It's possible."

Hearing their voices, the Normal-type stared at the two humans, before grinning and rushing at them. When he tackled the two to the ground, it caused everyone in the audience and the Legendaries to sit up in alarm, only to turn to confused at the two's laughter.

_"I never thought I'd see you two again!"_ Linoone said happily nuzzling them.

"It's great to see you too." Harry said with a grin.

Ireth laughed, "How have you been? You must have gotten very strong to be here."

The Rushing Pokémon nodded, finally letting the two sit up, _"Yes I have, my Trainer has taken very good care of me and her Pokémon."_

"That's great Linoone. I'm very happy to hear that." Harry said, hugging the Pokémon.

"Um…I'm not sure what's going on here." The announcer said confused. "Could one of you please explain why Serina's Linoone attacked you two?"

Suddenly remembering where they were, Harry and Ireth both blushed. "Well, you see it's like this." Harry started. "We were on our way to Unda when we heard a Pokémon crying in pain in some bushes. It was Linoone, covered in scars from the whips that Quasso used." Everyone present growled at this, remembering the screams Harry made when he was attacked.

Ireth took over, "We did what we could to stabilize it, and then we ran to the Pokémon Center in Unda. Nurse Joy was able to fix him right up. After we got our Badges from Aqua, we said goodbye to Linoone, and that's the last we saw of him till today."

"Well I'll be! That's a very interesting story you two." The announcer said happily. "I'm glad you three friends were reunited again."

"So am I." Serina said smiling. "I found Linoone running around the country side and caught him after a very hard battle. That Pokémon is one tough cookie."

The duo grinned at this and gave Linoone a quick hug. Putting him back down, Ireth said, "Linoone, we're in the middle of the League Semi-Finals…"

Linoone nodded and interrupted, _"I know that we have to battle. I'm happy to finally fight against you two so give it all you got."_

The emerald-eyed teen grinned, "You better give all you got as well, because we plan on winning this. Good luck Linoone." The Normal-type nodded and rushed back to the other side of the arena.

"Now we not only have a battle for the Semi-Finals for the Doubles, but also a battle between old friends. May their friendship last much longer than this battle!" The announcer said. "And now the second half of the Semi-Finals…begin!"

"Gardevoir, use Magical Leaf!"

"Medieon, Spirit Call!"

"Use Fire Blast Typhlosion!"

"Linoone, use Quick Attack to get away from their attacks!"

Gardevoir waved her arms around, causing the green and red leaves to appear. Waving them again shot the leaves at the Normal-type. Meanwhile, Medieon had summoned seven feline spirits, all different colors right at Typhlosion. The Linoone was able to keep ahead of the Grass attack but was unable to lose them. Meanwhile, Typhlosion's attack was only able to stop the green feline –spirit which represented the type Grass, the others just danced around the flames before slamming into its source, knocking him out.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" The referee said.

"Linoone, it's all up to you! Lose those leaves and use Slash!"

Nodding, the Normal-type started to run faster and faster around Gardevoir and Medieon, turning into a tan blur with red and green blurs chasing it. Gardevoir and Medieon stood back to back, waiting.

"What should we do Harry?" Ireth asked, trying to keep up with Linoone and failing.

Harry bit his lip, "Neither of our Pokémon can match that kind of speed…we need to slow Linoone down."

"I got it!" Ireth said and whispered in Harry's ear. Emerald eyes lit up at the idea. "It'll work, trust me."

"Okay. Medieon, use Dark Pulse!" Harry ordered. The Psychic/Ghost type took a deep breath and let out a howl. From his mouth came a black wave of darkness, slamming into Linoone. Though all it did was make him stumble a bit, but that bit was enough.

"Gardevoir, use Hypnosis followed up with Dream Eater!"

Gardevoir made eye-contact with Linoone, putting him into a trance and forced him to stop running. Within seconds, he was sound asleep. Purplish light surrounded both Pokémon, with Linoone twitching in his sleep. When the light faded, Linoone was out for the count.

"Linoone is unable to battle! The winners of the Doubles Semi-Finals are Harry and Ireth!" The referee said.

"We did it!" The duo chanted happily, pulling their Pokémon into their happy dance. Ian and Serina walked up to the two with smiles on their faces.

"While we're not exactly happy about losing, we are happy that it was to you two that we lost." Ian said.

"Make sure you win the Finals and become Pokémon Masters." Serina added. "We'll be cheering you on."

"Thank you, we'll do our best." Harry said.

The announcer came back on, "Attention please. The Tournament will resume in one hour so the Trainers will have time to prepare for the final battles. The first to battle the Champions is the Singles Semi-Finals winner, Ash Ketchum!"

Harry and Ireth went back to the locker rooms, where they were met with cheers and whistles from the other Trainers. "You two did great, I really think you can beat the Champions" One said with a grin.

Nurse Joy walked up and gave the two hugs. "I came to fix up your Pokémon real quick."

"Thank you Nurse Joy." Ireth said, handing her the Pokeballs, Harry's as well.

After she left, Harry looked around, "I wonder where Ash is?"

"Oh, he's preparing for his battle. I saw him talking with his mom and Professor Oak." Another Trainer said. "His battle will start in a few minutes. They gave just you two the hour to prepare since you just battled."

"Oh, alright. Let's get something to eat." Ireth said, dragging Harry behind her.

"I kinda need that arm you know."

"Oh hush, you'll live." Harry could practically hear her smirk as she said this. His well-thought out response was just to roll his eyes.

After grabbing some sandwiches and water, along with their Pokeballs ('Man Nurse Joy was fast' Ireth muttered), they went back to the cafeteria, where once again, the tables were pushed off to the side and everyone was on the floor with their Pokémon. "Room for two more?" Harry asked.

"Sure!" "Of course!" "Sit over here!" "No here!"

Shaking their heads at the statements being yelled, Ireth finally shouted, "How about the middle?" A large whole was made in the middle for the two of them to sit in along with all their Pokémon. Harry laid against Ninetales with Medieon and Froslass on his legs with Serperior curled around their forms. Metagross and Absol on either side. Ireth was sitting in the middle of Salamence, Dragonair and Flygon in a triangle formation, Lucario and Gardevoir sitting beside her. Gyarados curled around them all easily.

On the TV, Ash's battle had already started against Wallace, Glalie against Ludicolo.

As the two Pokémon went all out, Ireth asked, "So, how does the Finals work? I know that we have to fight the Champions but how exactly?"

Togetic's Trainer answered her, "Well, in Ash's case, it's a one on one battle with them using four Pokémon each. If Ash beats Wallace, he'll then fight one of the other Champions, most likely Lance. If he beats Lance, he wins the Singles Tournament."

On the TV, Glalie managed to take down Ludicolo and was now fighting a Wailord with the fight going in the Water-type's favor.

"So, wait, he doesn't have to fight all four of them?" Another Trainer questioned.

"No." An elderly Trainer replied. "Since it's only Ash fighting, he just has to beat two of the Champions in one on one fights."

Wailord beat Glalie, but fell quickly to Pikachu, who was now fighting Milotic.

"Now, with you two, they will fight against two Champions at once, each of them using only two Pokémon each, so it's still a two on two fight."

"And if we beat the first two Champions, do we have to fight the other two?" Harry asked.

"Nope." The suit Trainer replied. "You just have to beat the two they pick to fight you."

Thanks to a double KO, both Pikachu and Milotic were out. Wallace was on his last Pokémon while Ash still had two left. Wallace sent out his own Gyarados while Ash sent out Sceptile.

"Do you know who we're going to battle?" Ireth asked Harry.

"No clue." He replied.

"I'm guessing it'll be Cynthia and Astra. Those two will be the hardest to beat, they fight very well together." A Trainer with a Sunflora said.

Sceptile was just standing still in the middle of the arena, but he seemed to be glowing. Gyarados was preparing a Hyper Beam.

"What the heck is that Pokémon doing? He's just standing there." The Togetic Trainer said.

"Well…Sceptile's glowing, so maybe he's preparing an attack?" Harry suggested.

"Oh…he's getting ready to use Solar Beam." She replied

Ireth looked worried, "But won't a Solar Beam and a Hyper Beam just create a-"

BOOM

The camera actually shook with the shock waves from the two attacks colliding. The arena filled with dust and smoke. Over the residual noise, everyone could hear a loud 'thump'.

"What happened?" "What was that noise?" "Who won?" "Quiet!"

Everyone fell silent at Ireth's command. "Much better, now if you all would just be patient, the dust is clearing."

Sure enough, her words were true; the dust was beginning to settle back onto the arena floor. Along with a certain Pokémon.

"I can't believe it, Ash won!" "But how?" "What happened to Gyarados?"

On the TV, the Atrocious Pokémon was out cold, Sceptile standing near the large Pokémon, tail glowing a light green. Everyone quieted when Ash began to speak. "I knew that the only way to win was to land a solid attack on Gyarados, so I used Solar Beam to distract you. In the dust, I had Sceptile land a Leaf Blade directly on Gyarados, KO'ing it."

The referee raised a flag towards Ash, "Gyarados in unable to battle, the winner is Sceptile!"

"And there you have it folks! Straight from the winner's mouth! Ash Ketchum wins the first round of the Finals! The next battle will be against Lance in ten minutes." The announcer said. The crowd went nuts with cheers, the Legendaries also cheering for one of their favorite humans. Ash just waved and smiled at the crowd before heading off camera, most likely to treat his Pokémon real quick.

"Wow, that was a tricky move on Ash's part." Harry said impressed.

A couple of the Trainers laughed, "That's one of his specialties. That kid is always able to come up with inventive plans on the spot."

"I've heard that he once used an old Gym Leaders area against them." One started. "It was a Leader that specialized with Ice-types, so the arena was completely covered in it along with some stalagmites on the floor. Most Pokémon couldn't find their footing on it so they always lost."

Another one took up the tale, "Not Ash though, he got Pikachu to start bouncing off the pillars, going faster and faster. Finally launched himself off, straight at the Leaders Pokémon, KO'd it, and won his badge."

The younger Trainers, along with Harry and Ireth, had their jaws on the floor. "Wow, he sure can think of inventive ways to use, not only his own Pokémon, but the area around him to his advantage." Ireth said, impressed.

"Hey! The next battle is about to start." Harry said pointing at the TV.

Both Trainers had their Pokémon out already, Ash with his Lapras and Lance chose Tyranitar. The second the referee said 'Begin' both Pokémon had launched their attacks.

"That reminds me!" Harry sat up suddenly. He turned to the other Trainers. "Have you all had the same referee at each Gym Battle and here?"

Stunned by the sudden question, and confused by Ireth slapping her forehead, they shook their heads. "No, each Gym has its own referee. They stay there because that's where they're stationed at." The suit Trainer said.

Lapras kicked Tyranitar's butt with a well placed Hydro Pump and was now fighting Dragonite.

"I guess if they petitioned for a new town, they could move that way…" Another trailed off.

Harry just sat blinking in confusion, so Ireth took pity on the others, "Every Gym battle we've been in, and every battle here, we've had the same referee every time. It's been driving Harry nuts. We first thought that the guy was part of a family where they all looked the same, like Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy."

Dragonite knocked out Lapras with a Thunderbolt, but was KO's quickly by Glalie with an Ice Beam. The Ice-type was now battling against Charizard.

The Togetic Trainer shook her head, "Not possible, they're the only ones with a family like that. I looked it up; curious to see if any other family was like them."

"So that guy HAS been stalking us!" Harry yelled.

Charizard knocked out Glalie with a Flamethrower after first softening it up with a Seismic Toss. Ash's next Pokémon was Staraptor. The two Pokémon were now fighting in the sky.

"I know Harry, the world is just out to get you. Your luck sucks like that." Ireth said in mock sympathy.

He just turned to her and said seriously, "You just now figured that out? How in the world did you survive being my friend for this long?"

Charizard launched Overheat while Staraptor had been attacking with Close Combat. After a mini-explosion, the Fire-type was knocked out of the sky. Lance's last Pokémon was Steelix, who merely slammed his tail on the tired bird Pokémon, knocking him out. Ash then tossed out his own Charizard.

"Instincts my friend." Ireth replied. "Plus a lot of good luck charms."

"Hey, they're at their last Pokémon!" A young Trainer said pointing at the TV. Everyone stopped talking to watch the battle.

For a bit it seemed that Charizard had the upper hand with being able to fly and launch Fire-type attacks at the Steel/Ground type. The table was turned though when Steelix started thrashing, building up a Sandstorm. Unable to see, Charizard was forced to land to avoid flying straight into the stadium wall.

The Fire/Flying type let out a huge roar, which actually knocked the Sandstorm away. He and Ash were surprised though when there was no sign of Steelix.

"Where Steelix go?" Harry muttered.

"Oh crud look!" Ireth pointed, but it was too late. The Pokémon had dug underground when the Sandstorm started and now launched himself from directly under Charizard, slamming into him with his weight. Charizard wasn't down for the count yet and fired a close-range Overheat straight at his attacker.

Both Pokémon landed with a heavy 'thud', neither one moving. Both of their Trainers were yelling at their Pokémon, trying to wake them up. Slowly, sluggishly, they both raised themselves though everyone could see that they wouldn't be able to fully get up. Then, just like a domino effect, Charizard fell first followed closely by Steelix.

"Charizard and Steelix are unable to battle. However, as Charizard fell first, the winner is Champion Lance!"

The crowd started cheering while both Ash and Lance went to their tired Pokémon. They whispered something and recalled them. The crowd quieted when they approached each other. Ash put out his hand first with a smile on his face, "Thanks for the great battle; we'll have to do that again someday."

"Indeed we will Ash. I look forward to it." Lance said with a smile of his own as he shook hands with Ash. The audience started cheering once again, along with the Legendaries at Ash's response to losing.

"What an ending folks and what great sportsmanship between two fantastic Trainers! I hope I'm around when they battle it out again. The Doubles Finals will start in one hour, which should be enough time for the League Team to repair the arena. An announcement will be played when you should return to your seats. That is all." The announcer shut off his mike.

"Let's go find Ash." Harry said, standing up and recalling his Pokémon.

Ireth nodded, recalling hers, "Yeah that was a great battle no matter who won or lost."


	23. Chapter 23

After ten minutes of searching, they found Ash at the Pokémon Center talking to his mom, Oak, Gary, Naomi, the Rockets and the Leaders. He was tackled to the ground by the eager Trainers.

"Hey guys!" He laughed, one arm wrapped around each one. "So what did you think of my battle?"

"You were great, no matter if you lost." Harry said immediately.

"Charizard and the others did their best, that's all that can be expected of them. They performed above and beyond the call of duty." Ireth grinned.

Oak laughed, helping Harry and Ireth to their feet so Ash could stand, "They're right my boy. You did great."

The Rocket trio laughed. "Now we know why we can never beat you squirt." Jesse said.

"With your Pokémon able to do things like that, it's no wonder you were able to battle circles around us." James added.

Meowth grinned, "At least we don't have to blast off again every time we see you now."

"Oh I don't know." Ash smirked, "I could always get Pikachu to attack you, for old times' sake." Everyone laughed when the three of them paled and hid behind Harry.

"No need!" James said

"We're fine right here." Jesse added.

"No need to electrocute us!" Meowth finished.

"Man, I can tell I'll have a lot of fun with you three." Ash said, wiping a tear from his eyes.

"Harry, can I have a quick word?" Giovanni asked. The emerald eyed teen nodded and followed the Rocket head with Persian to the other side of the Center. Sensing a personal talk coming on, everyone else busied themselves with their own quiet conversations and the like.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked Giovanni.

"No Harry, nothing's wrong at all, I just wanted to show you something." Giovanni said, bringing something out of his briefcase. Persian was purring in happiness and excitement. He showed a small stack of papers to Harry. The writing was gibberish to him, he guessed lawyer speak, but at the bottom was Giovanni's signature and a blank line underneath it.

"What's this?"

"These are adoption papers Harry." Giovanni said softly. "If you still want me as your dad, all you have to do is sign at the bottom. Everything else is taken care of; you would be my son in all but blood."

At the word 'adoption' Harry's eyes lit up like stars. "Really? You still want me as a son?"

"Of course Harry, nothing would make me happier." The man replied with a soft smile.

With shaking hands, Harry signed his name under Giovanni's. The second he was done, he was swept up in the arms of his new dad. Having never had this type of feeling before, Harry soaked it all up while letting quiet tears fall down his face. And from the moisture gathering on his sleeve, he knew Giovanni was just as happy as he was.

Their moment was broken by the sound of applause from the others. Blushing slightly, though still ecstatic, they returned to the group. Delilah wasted no time in grabbing Harry in a tight hug. "I'm so happy Harry that you found a new family." She said, tears in her eyes as well.

"Thanks Mrs. Ketchum, but Dad," Giovanni practically swelled up in happiness at that one word "isn't the only member of my family. I've got my crazy sister." He poked Ireth. "A great big brother," He had to suffer under Ash's messing with his hair. "Fifteen aunts and uncles that I question their sanity on a daily basis." Harry had to run around to avoid the Leaders clutches along with Jesse, James and Meowth. Unfortunately the Champions weren't around to hear them be called aunts and uncles. "And two cousins that at some point will try what Ash did and mess with my hair." Gary and Naomi just laughed before trying to catch Harry. He managed to hide behind Persian. "Let's not forget my mother-hens." He looked at Persian and Delilah when he said that. "And my ancient Grandpa." He smirked at Oak.

"I'm not that old!"

"Yeah you are Grandpa." Gary laughed at Oak, who just pouted like a two year old, making everyone laugh at the Pokémon Professor.

"Anyway, I have all the family I'll ever need." Harry finished with a happy smile. It seemed to light up his eyes even more, making everyone who saw it fill with happiness. _'At least in this world, I have some family back home.'_ He thought quietly.

"The Doubles Finals will start in a few minutes. Everyone should return to their seats soon." The announcer spoke over the intercom.

"Come on 'little brother'." Ireth said, poking Harry. "We got Champions to beat, a League to win, and a party to go to afterwards!"

"I'm not little!" He shouted, pouting slightly.

"Oh yes you are, even though you've grown a few inches, you're still shorter than me!" The lavender-eyed girl teased.

Harry just rolled his eyes and started to drag the girl away. He heard Ash holler "We'll be in the stands cheering you on!"

The hallways were empty as they made their way to the arena entrance. Ireth looked at Harry out of the corner of her eyes. "No matter what happens, win or lose, let's make this a battle to remember."

"Yeah." Silence for a few feet. "Did you think that we would make it this far? Especially with how we met in that forest?" Harry questioned.

"Nope, I just had a feeling that traveling with you would be a great and unique experience." She started snickering. "What do you think happened to the Bug Pokémon that chased us?"

Harry started to laugh too, "I don't know, but they were MAD. You wouldn't believe the things they kept calling us."

They stood at the closed doors. On the other side they could hear the chatter of the crowd creating a hum that echoed. The two Trainers shared a look, nodded, and then pushed open the doors.

The force of the audience's cheers, along with the roars of the Legendaries, was almost a physical force to the duo. They could feel the sound vibrating all around them. At the far end, they saw Cynthia and Astra smiling at them. As they walked to their spot, they looked around them. They first spotted Harry's new family, all waving and smiling at them. Jesse and James were even waving a banner that had their names on it. And they weren't the only ones, dozens of people scattered throughout the stadium were waving similar banners. Ireth started to snicker. When Harry silently questioned why, she just pointed upwards, causing him to start to snicker too. All the Legendary Pokémon were waving banners themselves, some even had their pictures on them.

"I think they're cheering for us Harry." Ireth muttered, still snickering.

He just rolled his eyes, "What EVER gave you that idea?"

"And now, the last battle of the Naturis League between the Champions Cynthia and Astra vs. the crowd's and Legendaries favorites Harry and Ireth!" The announcer's voice was drowned out by the cheers and applause. When it finally died down to a dull roar, the announcer continued, "Would the Trainers please step forth to shake hands?"

The two sets of Trainers made their way in unison to the center of the newly made arena. Smiling at each other, they shook hands. "I look forward to a great battle from you two." Astra said.

"No holding back now. Give it everything you got and then some." Cynthia said, blue eyes glittering.

"Will do, you just make sure you give it you're all too." Ireth said.

"May the best team win, but it doesn't matter who wins or loses, just have fun with it." Harry finished.

The Champions grinned and nodded before turning around and walking back to their spot. As Harry and Ireth turned to do the same, something caught Harry eye, which made him start to twitch.

It was the referee…again…exactly the same referee.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Harry yelled before tackling the referee. The audience was stunned silent, Ireth face-palming, while Harry anime shook the referee. "It's always you! Every single battle Ireth and I have ever had, it's always been you! Why are you following us? Are you stalking us? Answer me Mr. Referee!"

Harry continued to shake the dizzy referee until he started to turn bright pink and started to change shape. Stepping back as the 'referee' continued to do this, Harry, Ireth, every audience member and Legendary Pokémon all had 'WTF?' looks on their faces. Finally…

"Di-Ditto?" _"Why is everything spinning?"_

"It's a Ditto?" Ireth asked incredulous.

"Ditto! There you are!" A voice called out. Everyone turned to the same doors Ireth and Harry had walked out of. And there the referee.

After gathering the pink Pokémon in his arms, the real referee looks up and gives a sheepish chuckle, "Sorry folks. I had to go to the bathroom and the little guy got out of his Pokeball… Heh heh."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ireth held her hands up. "Are you telling us, that the referee that we thought was you, this ENTIRE time, was your Pokémon pretending to be you?"

"Yup, that's about it." The referee said grinning before recalling his Ditto.

"But…how…why…where…HOW?" A seemingly broken Harry started to splutter. Ireth came over, patted his head, and started to drag him back to his spot.

"Just let it go Harry. If you think about it too hard, your head will explode."

"Um…well…that was unexpected." The announcer said, shock evidence in his tone. "Well, let's get on with it. The Final Battle is about to begin."

"Will the challengers and Champions please send out their Pokémon?" The real referee called out.

"Garchomp, I choose you!" Cynthia said.

"Starmie, let's win this!" Astra went next.

"Froslass, it's all you!" Harry went third.

"Flygon, show 'em what you're made of!" Lastly Ireth went.

Quickly, Harry pulled out his trusty Pokedex and aimed it at Astra's Pokémon, a strange purple, double starfish with a red jewel in its center. **Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon. It is said that it uses the seven colored core of its body to send electric waves into outer space.**

Ireth didn't need get Garchomp because they've already met one.

"Froslass, use Icy Wind!"

"Flygon, attack with Dragon Breath!"

"Starmie use Swift Attack!"

"Garchomp, fly up out of the way and use Fire Blast!"

The Ice/Ghost type let out a freezing breath of wind from her mouth, clipping Garchomp on its wing, which thankfully threw of its aim with Fire Blast, only making a fire ball on the ground in front of the Pokémon.

Flygon let loose a red and gold mist-like attack straight at Starmie which it blocked with a shower of yellow stars.

"Garchomp, use Steel Wing!" The Dragon/Ground type's sharp wings became even sharper and started to glow, dive-bombing Flygon.

"Flygon, stop Garchomp with Dragon Claw!" Ireth called. Giving a huff, Flygon's claws took on an eerie glow. Right as Garchomp tried to slash with its wings, Flygon met the attack with his own, causing a small explosion.

"Well done Flygon!" Ireth cheered, only to turn to a gasp when a jet of water landed a direct it on Flygon, knocking the wind out of him.

"Nice sneak-attack Starmie!" Astra cheered.

"You're not the only one who can do sneak attacks." Harry smirked. Right then, Froslass reappeared and fired an Ominous Wind right at Starmie, knocking him out.

"Astra's Starmie is unable to battle!" The referee said.

"Starmie return! Alakazam, attack with Shadow Ball!" The powerful Psychic Pokémon wasted no time in firing the attack at Froslass, slamming her into Flygon, KO'ing both in one hit.

"Froslass and Flygon are unable to battle!"

"Froslass return! Metagross, I choose you! Attack with Meteor Mash!" Harry shouted.

"Flygon return! Salamence, you can do this! Use Draco Meteor!" Ireth called out.

The Steel/Psychic type coated one arm in what looked like shooting stars. It tucked in its three remaining legs and flung itself at Garchomp, landing a direct hit and knocking it to the ground. At the same time, Salamence let out a loud roar, summoning a dark cloud that flung flaming rocks at the prone Dragon/Ground-type, finally knocking him out.

"Garchomp is unable to battle! Both sets of Trainers are now down to their last Pokémon!" The referee called, fairly jumping up and down with excitement. It seemed the whole crowd was on the edge of their seats.

"I chose you Togekiss!" Cynthia called out. Thanks to having seeing one with a Trainer before in the locker rooms, neither Harry nor Ireth checked it out with their Pokedex.

Both pairs of Pokémon landed on their Trainers respective sides, catching their breath. Togekiss and Alakazam with Cynthia and Astra. Metagross and Salamence with Harry and Ireth. It seemed like the typical stand-off, like at any second you would see a tumble weed blow across the stadium or hear dramatic music start to play from somewhere. Everyone was standing up, unable to stay seating in the tense and excited atmosphere surrounding them all.

Harry turned to Ireth, "Let's go out with a bang."

The teen smirked at her 'brother', "You read my mind."

Silence throughout the arena, not even the sound of breathing could be heard. And then…

Suddenly, like all the Pokémon got mental commands from their Trainers, they charged.

"Metagross…"

"Salamence…"

"Togekiss…"

"Alakazam…"

"USE HYPER BEAM!"

As one, the four Pokémon built up the powerful attack, and let it loose all at once. The resulting explosion from the attacks rivaled the brightness of the sun itself. People feel over from the shockwave that came from the impact. The Trainers on the field found themselves flat on their backs and slightly deafened them. When they were able to get back on their feet, not to mention their hearing back, they stared at the giant dust cloud that blanketed the arena.

"Wow folks. I've got to say that was one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen!" The announcer said, sounding breathless. "Sorry for sounding like this, I was knocked out of the booth from that explosion. Now, there is no doubt that at least one Pokémon was KO'd from that, question is. Which one?"

With baited breath, everyone watched the cloud slowly disperse. As they started to see through the dirt, some members gasped at what they saw, and several others had their jaws drop.

"Whoa…" Harry breathed

"I can't believe it." Ireth said softly.

"Unbelievable." Cynthia said.

"Only this would happen with those two." Astra shook her head, smiling.

Of the four Pokémon, Alakazam, Togekiss, Metagross, and Salamence, not a single one of them was standing.

"All four Pokémon are unable to battle! The Doubles Tournament ends in a draw!" The referee called out to the shell-shocked audience.

"A draw…a draw!" Harry said excitedly, grabbing Ireth and doing a quick dance, during which they recalled their Pokémon.

The referee looked slightly confused, "But you didn't win… why are you happy?"

"So what if we didn't win? We didn't lose either! It's a draw!" Harry said with a big grin. Ireth, realizing what he was saying, started to laugh and cheer herself. Cynthia and Astra started to laugh as well and began clapping after recalling their own Pokémon. Within seconds, every audience member was clapping for the ending of a magnificent battle. The Legendaries began firing attacks in the air, colliding with each other and creating beautiful fireworks in celebration.

Harry's family all stormed the field towards the duo and lifted them up on their shoulders, everyone either smiling, laughing or crying in happiness. As this was going on, a podium appeared from the ground with the Naturis League committee on it.

The Head of the NLC stepped forward. "Attention! If I could have your attention please!" It took a few tries before the audience and Pokémon were quiet enough to hear him. "Thank you. Would Ash, Harry, and Ireth please come up here?"

The three Trainers, with grins so wide that they threatened to split their faces, were placed up on the podium. "Even though you didn't win, each one of you came very close to winning the Naturis Tournament. Therefore, I would like to award each of you with a plaque." Three NLC members handed the Trainers a crystal and gold plaque in the shape of a Pokeball. Written on it was 'Winning against all odds, innumerable Trainers, and the Champions of the Pokémon World, we, the Naturis League Committee, are proud to present Ash/Harry/Ireth with the title of Pokémon Guardians'.

Shocked, the three looked up at the proud faces of the NLC, "You've earned it guys. It's a rank all of its own. And this way, you can still aim for the ultimate goal of Pokémon Master."

Beaming with pride, the three Trainers/friends raised the plaques high over their heads and the crowd erupted with the loudest cheer yet.

Several hours later, after everyone either went home or found rooms at the League for the night, Giovanni was talking on his cell phone with a group call.

"Yes that will do…no it's not until….yes you can…I want everything perfect but we still have time. Nothing will mess this up…just bring everything to Gramp's place, he won't mind. And not a word to…Okay, everything's set then? Very good, have a good night and see you then." He clicked the phone off. Turning to Persian he muttered, "I hope it works out alright."

"Sian." Persian said, yawning widely.

Giovanni chuckled, "You're right, just like always. Let's get some shut-eye."


	24. Chapter 24

_Several months later_

Giving a huge yawn, Harry stretched and opened his eyes, blinking some at the morning sun from Ash's room. After the League had ended, he and Ash had decided to head back home for a while, just to relax and such after spending all that time on the journey. Ireth, not having anything better to do, decided to come with them, which made Delilah ecstatic to have another girl around to talk fashion and such. Ash and Harry quickly learned to leave the room in fear once the words 'clothes', 'colors' or 'life-size Ken doll' were mentioned.

That's not to say Harry spent the entire time at the Ketchum's. When he first got back to Kanto, everyone understood that Harry and Giovanni needed some family bonding time and left the two of them alone for two weeks. In the time-frame, the emerald eyed teen learned a lot of new things.

The first of which was what it was like to have a father. While Giovanni may seem cold and aloof to the general public, he was the exact opposite when it came to his new son. He made sure they did all sorts of things together. From riding Rapidash across his pastures to reading in the Rocket Library, they found many things they had in common.

The second thing Harry learned was that, even though he was a Pokémon Guardian, the Rocket members were all very over protective of their Boss's charge. They took it upon themselves to always be at beck and call for the young Trainer. At first Harry was embarrassed to have them do this, but once he realized that they wanted to do it and enjoyed spending quality time with him (There was always a new Rocket duo with him every day). Jesse, James, and Meowth though, were his favorite care-takers and they spent the most time with him. To them it was a win-win. They got to spend time with the teen that they saw as their nephew (plus they got him several times to cook lunch for them) and Giovanni promoted them to Harry's Bodyguards, a position that they took seriously.

The third thing he learned was what it was like to be the son of a multi-billionaire. Anything and everything was his for the taking if he wanted it, along with his Pokémon. While Harry always blushed when he was reminded that he didn't have to do things for himself anymore, that the mansion staff would do it for him, he always replied that he enjoyed doing something with his hands to pass the time. (His Pokémon, on the other hand, didn't mind being spoiled. Harry caught Absol having her fur brushed more than once and Medieon snacking on rare Pokémon treats.) Whenever he wasn't in Giovanni's company (only when he was doing boring paperwork) Harry could be found with some members of the staff, helping out. This, of course, endeared him to the workers and they always made sure to deliver even better service to the young Rocket.

Giovanni always made sure Harry had the best of everything, no matter what it was. Once he heard from Delilah about her suspicions of the teen's old home life, he vowed that, even if Harry chose not to be adopted, he would treat Harry to everything he had been denied. Persian always snickered and said that he was doing a great job, though she had to get a clueless Harry to translate for her.

After a while though, living the life of luxury got a little over-whelming for Harry and he would request to stay at either Delilah's house or with Professor Oak. Delilah was always happy to have him over, as was Ash. Professor Oak was thrilled every time he came over, pulling him from one Pokémon to another, asking them endless questions that Pokémon Professors around the world have never been able to answer before. While he was happy to help out, Harry was always slightly scared of Oak when he became like that and usually had to hide behind Gary for safety.

Pulling himself out of his memories, Harry glanced over at Ash's bed, surprised to see it empty and already made.

"Wow, must be a blue moon or something." Harry said to himself. Shrugging, he grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom, passing by the closed guestroom door, which was now Ireth's room. Finishing his morning routine, he headed to the kitchen, waving 'hi' to a sweeping Mr. Mime.

"Good morning Harry." Delilah said, handing him a plate of pancakes. Though he was usually up first, Harry and Delilah came to an agreement to split up breakfast duty. One week was hers, the next Harry's and so on. Ash was never to be allowed near the stove, when he somehow made a pot of water he was heating, blow up. Harry and Ireth were never able to get the full story out of him. Ireth always said that, unless it was something that didn't need cooking, she was never going near a stove or oven.

"Morning Delilah." Harry said between bites. That was another thing that had changed real quick. The red-haired woman had sat them down and told them to start calling her by her first name. 'Since you're living here after all, I think we could do without the formalities.'

"Harry, after breakfast, would you mind running a few errands for me?" Delilah asked. "I would have sent Ash, but he was gone, Training or something with Gary. And I need Ireth here to help out with something I have to get done."

"Sure, no problem." Harry said, finishing his breakfast.

Delilah grinned, "Thank you. I just need you to deliver something to the Pokémon Center in Viridian, and then run a few errands there." She handed him a letter, which he tucked away in his jacket. He had taken to wearing them, copying Ash's style. She also gave him a list of things he needed to do.

After helping her clean up, Harry ran outside and breathed in the morning air. It was going to be a beautiful day he could tell. Grinning, he tossed a Pokeball. "Absol! How about a lift?"

_"No problem Harry."_ She said, ducking her head under him and tossing him on her back. _"Where to Harry?"_

"We're off to Viridian!" Harry said, holding onto her dark-blue fur. He gave a happy yelp as the Dark-type Pokémon took off with the speed of the wind.

In no time flat, they were in the city. Harry didn't bother to recall Absol, the town's people were so used to him running in on her that they merely waved 'hi' to him, instead of gawking at the unusual Pokémon. Absol slowed to a walk, enjoying being out of her Pokeball.

"First stop, Pokémon Center to deliver a letter." Harry said. When they arrived, he hopped off of Absol. "You can stay out here Absol and enjoy the fresh air."

_"Don't mind if I do."_ She said, lying down under a large tree. _"Call if you need anything Harry."_

"I will Absol." Harry promised before walking inside.

It was a mini-mad house in the Pokémon Center, Trainers all yelling at each other or at Nurse Joy, who was looking very flustered. Chansey wasn't much better, though she brightened when she saw Harry. Forcing her way through the crowd of humans, she pulled Harry off to the side so they could talk.

_"Hello Harry, do you need something?"_ Chansey asked politely, though the tired tone was evident in her voice.

"Hi Chansey, Delilah wanted me to give something to Nurse Joy." He handed her the letter, which the Pokémon quickly scanned through.

_"I see…yes, I'll give this to her at once...well…when it calms down anyway."_

"What happened? I've never seen it this busy here."

_"It seems that the Pokémon Center in Pewter City has gone down, no power or something."_ Chansey started. _"So every Trainer between here and Pewter has to come here to get their Pokémon treated, since Cerulean City is a lot further away than Viridian. The problem is, is that we're being overwhelmed here with just the two of us. And these humans are just making it worse for themselves and the Pokémon we're trying to heal."_

Frowning in concern, Harry asked, "Have you called the Pokémon Center HQ or whatever it's called for some back-up?"

Chansey nodded, _"We have, but they won't be here for several more hours at least, they have to come from Cerulean." _

Harry scratched his head, "Well, I'm not that good with this kind of stuff. That thing with the Legendaries was a one-time thing-"

Just then, the noise level rose to even louder heights, the actual words being lost in the clamor of the crowd. Chansey and Harry winced in sympathy for Nurse Joy, who was tried to get everyone to calm down.

Harry frowned, this time in determination, "I may not be able to help out with healing and stuff, but I can do this…" He quickly went to the door leading outside and looked around. "Absol! I need your help with something real quick." When the Disaster Pokémon got closer, he whispered in her ear, causing her to smirk evilly.

_"Sure, this ought to be fun."_

With his Pokémon following him inside, Harry made his way around everyone to stand on top of a table near the Nurse's desk. No one paid the slightest bit of attention to him.

'_That's about to change.'_ He thought, smirking. Looking at Chansey and Nurse Joy, he caught their eyes and mimed them to cover their ears. Trusting Harry they did, though they were confused as to why. He turned to Absol and nodded, covering his own ears.

Absol took a deep breath…

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" The roar knocked all the yelling Trainers off their feet, and more importantly, shut them up.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Harry started, getting their attention. "Here you are, behaving like spoiled brats not getting their way. All you're doing is harming your Pokémon even further, while making Nurse Joy's and Chansey's job all that much harder. Now, I want everyone who has a Pokémon who's injury can wait go to the cafeteria where I'll be by shortly to make them something to eat, while everyone else who needs immediate treatment for their Pokémon to calmly make a line and tell Nurse Joy and Chansey what the problem is so she can fix it for you." He glared at them all to make sure they got the message. "If I hear the noise level get above anything higher than a normal conversation, I will have Absol do more than roar. Do I make myself clear?"

Sufficiently cowed by the teen, they all nodded quickly. Several of the Trainers, along with their Pokémon, headed straight for the cafeteria, while the rest got in line with the most seriously injured Pokémon at the front. Nurse Joy shot Harry a grateful look as he passed her by to the kitchen area. Absol had decided to stay in case the Trainers needed…'reminding.'

"Okay…let's see…"Harry said, looking into the fridge and cabinets. "Yeah…that should work." He decided on the food. He tossed out Froslass and Metagross' Pokeballs. "Okay guys, I need your help with making food for several dozen Trainers and injured Pokémon. Froslass, you're going to be my helper, I'll tell you what I need passed to me or cut, alright?"

_"No problem Harry." _Froslass said, hovering higher.

"Metagross, I'll need you to use your psychic abilities to either hand us whatever I call for, or take bowls and plates out to the cafeteria."

_"Right."_ Metagross answered, tucking in his legs to levitate, making getting around much easier.

The next fifteen minutes passed by quickly. Harry decided to keep it simple and serve spaghetti for the Trainers, that was easily and quickly fixed. Metagross teleported the multiple pots to the serving area of the cafeteria along with plates and whatever else was needed. During which he glanced at all the injured Pokémon and told Froslass and Harry telepathically what he saw, which helped them work quickly to make each Pokémon a special dish.

Since Metagross was still needed in the back to get the ingredients, Harry brought out Ninetales and Serperior and had them playing 'waiter' for awhile by delivering the bowls of Pokefood, Ninetales with her tails of course, and Serperior having the bowls on his long slithering tail. They lost track of time of how long they were in there cooking and cleaning before they finally heard a commotion. After giving Froslass instructions on what to do next, Harry went out to see what the heck was going on. A Granbull with a bandage around its paw was snarling at anyone that got too close, several bowls empty of Pokefood surrounding it and it was still stealing more.

"Can't you control that Pokémon of yours?" One Trainer holding a sniffing Elekid. All the other Trainers and Pokémon had backed away, Ninetales and Serperior standing guard against the Normal-type, the Granbull's own Trainers trying and failing to return the Pokémon to its Pokeball.

"I'm trying, but he just won't go back in!" The frustrated Trainer said. "He's always like this, won't listen to a thing I say or anything!"

Having enough of the selfish Pokémon, Harry stepped forward and brought out his remaining Pokémon, "Medieon, use Hypnosis on Granbull, knock him out."

_"No sweat."_ The Psychic/Ghost-type said, eyes glowing with an eerie light. Medieon locked eyes with the angry Granbull, who slowly stopped growling and fell straight to sleep. Quickly, his Trainer recalled him and placed the Pokeball in a secure case.

"If I don't do this, he'll just bust out when he wakes up and goes on a rampage." The Trainer explained sadly. "I just don't know what I did wrong with him. He was perfect as a Snubull, but once he evolved…"

"I don't think you did anything wrong." Harry said, sweeping up the mess the Pokémon had made while Medieon helped Serperior and Ninetales get more food. Some of the other Trainers were helping Harry clean up. "You say he was fine before he evolved. Have you ever considered that, once he did evolve and become stronger, he no longer feels the need to listen to you because of that?"

"No, that never crossed my mind before." The Trainer admitted. "I always thought it was me."

Harry hummed in thought, dumping the broken bowls and scraps of Pokefood. His three Pokémon were back already with the new food, the injured Pokémon happily eating. "My 'brother' Ash had the same problem with his Charizard. When he evolved, Charizard felt that Ash wasn't worthy to be his Trainer anymore and barely listened to him. And several times he attacked Ash."

"So what happened to change Charizard's mind?" Another Trainer asked. "I've seen those two on TV several times, you could see the trust and affection they have for each other. They would go to the end of the world and back for one other, all of Ash's Pokémon would."

"That's because Ash proved to Charizard that he was worthy, that Ash really did care about Charizard's well-being." Harry replied. "I don't know exactly how he did it, but Ash won Charizard's respect. I bet that if you do the same thing with Granbull, you'll have one of the most loyal Pokémon anyone can have."

The Trainer nodded, deep in thought, "What you say makes sense. I'll do my best to win Granbull's respect. Even if I have to risk my life for him, Granbull's worth it."

The emerald-eyed Trainer nodded, happy that his words got through. Just then, Nurse Joy came out. "Okay, I can see all of you now, the more seriously injured Pokémon are all treated and either in recovery or with their Trainers." Thanking Harry for the food and talk, all the Trainers and their Pokémon went into the lobby. A few new Trainers and their Pokémon took their place.

Before Harry went back into the kitchen, Nurse Joy pulled him into a hug. "I can't thank you enough for all your help. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't done what you did. Several of those Pokémon wouldn't have made it without immediate care, so you saved several lives today."

Harry blushed and replied, "It's no problem Nurse Joy, I'm happy to help in any way that I can."

"Still thank you. Also, you can go now. The other Nurse Joy's and their Chansey have arrived. The Joy's can help me in there while the Chansey can work in the kitchen."

Surprised at the passage of time, Harry nodded and recalled all of his Pokémon (except Absol, who was still in the lobby) while the Chansey all waved and headed to the back. "Okay Nurse Joy, take care." Harry waved good bye and went out with Absol.

_"Well, that was an interesting three hours."_ She commented, standing up with Harry on her back.

Harry nodded in agreement while searching for the list Delilah gave him. "Yeah, but well worth it. Nurse Joy does so much for Trainers everywhere; she should get some help now and then from them as well." He scanned the list. "Huh...she just wants me to go to the bakery and tell them 'Delilah says 'Go for it'. I wonder what that's supposed to mean?" Shrugging, Harry urged Absol towards the Viridian baker. The man seemed surprised to see Harry, and then changed to delighted with the strange message, shooing Harry out of the store and putting up the 'Sorry, we're Closed' sign.

"This day is just plain weird." Harry murmured to Absol as he climbed up again. "But anyway, that's the only thing she wanted us to do."

As Absol walked to the edge of the town, she felt Harry stiffen slightly. _"What's wrong Harry?"_ She asked, turning her head to look at her Trainer.

Harry had a pensive look on his face, glancing back at Viridian. "It's just…I…nothing. Never mind Absol. Let's get back. Delilah should have lunch ready by now and maybe Ash is back from his training with Gary."

As Absol ran, Harry thought, _'I just have the feeling, that I won't see Viridian again…not for a while.'_

After the short trip, Harry recalled Absol and walked up to the front door, only to be surprised by a note on the door. He pulled it off the door and read aloud, _"Harry, Ash and Gary came by and wanted to show us something at Oak's pasture. Delilah."_ Shrugging once again, Harry set off at a walk towards the Pokémon lab, whistling a tune as he did. _'It's funny. I remember the first time I went with Delilah to see Professor Oak…it seems so long ago now…'_

Reaching the lab, Harry let himself in and found it deserted. "Okay, this is getting kinda creepy." He said, voice echoing in the empty hallway. Deciding to head out to the back, the teen made his way through the silent lab. The second he stepped out the back door….

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden shout from over a dozen people. Trying to calm his heart and breathing Harry took in the sight. At the bottom of the steps were all of his friends and family standing around a large table piled with presents and a Pokeball shaped cake. All their Pokémon that they battled with against him, and even the ones he met when he first came to the Pokémon lab, were behind the humans, all wishing him a happy birthday as well, his own Pokémon appearing as well.

Harry slapped his forehead and laughed, "Of course, it's my birthday." He had forgotten he had told it to Giovanni in one of their many talks. The man had asked so offhandedly that he never suspected anything in answering him. Definitely Slytherin of the man.

"You forgot what today was didn't you?" Ash teased, grabbing his 'brother's' arm and dragging him down the steps. Harry was passed around for hugs from everyone.

"I can't believe you forgot!" Ireth laughed as she messed with his hair.

Harry broke free from her grip and laughed, "Why is everyone always messing with my hair?" He tried to fix it. "And yes, I did forget but that just makes the surprise all the sweeter, doesn't it?"

The lavender-eyed teen thought for a moment, "I guess you're right!"

Harry just shook his head, before yelping as he was pulled into a two-way hug between Cynthia and Astra. Rolling his eyes at their cuddling, he turned to Giovanni, "So how long have you been planning this?"

Giovanni had the grace to look slightly sheepish, "Well…I had been planning the party itself since the night you won the Naturis League, but I didn't have the date to set it until you let it slip."

Harry just blinked emerald eyes at his dad, "Wow, you are one sneaky guy."

"And proud of it!" He replied pompously.

"Less talk, more cake and presents!" Naomi said, Nicky on her shoulder and Arctic, now a Walrein, behind her.

"Okay, okay." Harry said. Oak had laid a large tarp on the ground and piled all kinds of pillows and cushions on it so everyone could sit comfortably around the birthday boy. After having some of the delicious cake (apparently, Delilah's message to the baker was to tell him to deliver the cake by Pidgeot) they sat down and one by one, they handed their presents to Harry. Delilah made a list of who gave what so Harry could send thank-you cards later on. (He found out this weird quirk when she made Ash do the same thing and from his reaction she did it every year)

From Jesse, James, and Meowth he got another bracelet so he could add new charms when he got them, this one was made of red, blue, yellow, and green 'R's. He mentally chuckled at the irony of it.

From the Rocket members and staff (all of who couldn't be there) got him two outfits, one was a Rocket Elite uniform in white and emerald green, and the other was a mini-suit that was a copy of Giovanni's. Everyone got a good laugh at that.

From Naomi he got a crystal figurine of every Legendary Pokémon grouped together. ("It was easy, seeing as the craftsman was at the League I just said it was for you, got it half price!")

Ash and Gary pooled together and gave him a hand-carved, wooden picture frame with the words 'Pokémon Guardian's Family' over the top of it, inside was all his friends, their Pokémon, and all of the Legendaries, waving at the camera. ("Ireth and I called them and explained what was going on they were more than happy to pose for the camera" Said Ash. "I carved the frame out of holly, it just seemed right for some reason." Gary added. Harry inwardly snickered at this.)

From Delilah and Mr. Mime, they gave him a cookbook with recipes from all over the different regions.

From the Gym Leaders he got several books about Pokémon, different regions, how to take care of them, etc.

From the Champions he got something different, a key. "What's the key for?"

"Your room of course." Lance said with a grin.

Harry just sat there clueless, "You wanna run that by me again?"

The four Champions laughed, Wallace started explaining, "Okay, you know that all the Gym Leaders from every region around the world, along with the Champions go to a secret meeting place to discuss the happenings of the world and such?"

"Yeah, I've heard stories of it during traveling, but nothing concrete." Harry replied, fingering the key.

"Well…that key is the key to your room in the castle." Cynthia grinned at Harry's dumb-struck look.

Astra snapped her fingers, reached into her pocket, and tossed two keys to Ireth and Ash. "Those are your keys. It wouldn't seem fair if we just had one Guardian live with us and not the other two." Everyone laughed at the looks they had, mirroring Harry's perfectly. "We'll tell you where the place is later, too many witnesses." Astra stage-whispered, snickering at the looks she was getting by everyone else.

Giovanni and Persian went next and gave him two things; the first was a silver necklace with an 'R' hanging from it, studded with jewels. "I know it is a little gaudy, but Persian picked it out."

"Sian!" _"Hey!"_

"Anyway, it's more than just a fashion statement." He pointed to the middle jewel, the emerald. "If you push this, it sends out a powerful signal. If you push that, I'll be able to find you, no matter where you are." Giovanni said quietly. The second thing he gave him was actually a little charm, the first to be put on the new bracelet. "I called in several favors for this one; it's a personal protective device, kinda like a force field. It'll activate automatically to whatever you deem a threat. It won't let anything, and I mean anything, touch you."

Harry admired the little charm, seeing it was a diamond in the shape of the Eternity Knot. He gave Giovanni a hug, knowing that the man was only doing what he could to keep him safe, "Thank you Dad."

They ended the hug when something happened. Over their heads, a trio of Pokémon appeared. A very familiar trio of Legendary Pokémon.

"Mew, Celebi, Jirachi!" Harry said surprised. "What are you three doing here? I didn't call you."

They spoke telepathically to save Harry the trouble of translating for them; they also made it so that while they were there, the other Pokémon would be understood by everyone besides Harry. _"Harry…we're sorry but we need to send you back to your old world."_

This simple sentence was met with outraged and confused voices from human and Pokémon alike, Harry couldn't even tell who was saying what, meanwhile; he had felt like he swallowed an ice cube.

"You can't make Harry go!"

"What do you mean?"

"Harry belongs here!"

"I'll fight you myself!"

"You can't take him!"

_"Silence!"_ Jirachi ordered sternly, though sadly. _"I'm sorry, but we must return Harry, he has things he must do in his old world. We've put it off as long as we could."_

_"But, after he takes care of what he needs to do."_ Celebi added, _"He may return here. But it would be a one way trip. We can't keep transferring humans between dimensions; it weakens the walls separating them."_

"But you can't possibly make him go alone!" Ash demanded, tears falling down his face. And he wasn't the only one.

_"I'm sorry, but you humans can't go to his world."_ Mew stated, shaking his head.

"You said 'humans'," Giovanni caught, "What about Pokémon?"

Surprised, the Legendary Trio glanced between each other before nodding, _"That we can do, along with anything he wants to take. It just can't be humans."_

As one, Harry's Pokémon moved to stand beside him, saying without words 'We're going, deal with it.' Harry turned to bury his face in Medieon's fur, trying not to break down. _"Don't worry Harry; we'll be beside you the whole way."_

"And they won't be the only ones." Ireth said. Harry turned to her to see her standing in front of her own Pokémon. "Guys, I need a huge favor, I want you to go with Harry and keep him safe, please?"

_"Of course we will Miss Ireth."_ Gardevoir (who had never gotten out of that habit since she was a Ralts) said with a smile, speaking for all Ireth's Pokémon. _"We will watch over him like he was our own Trainer."_

"That's what I'm counting on." Ireth said with a grin, recalling them all.

"But Ireth…" Harry gaped out, shocked. "What will you do without your Pokémon?"

The lavender eyed girl went over to Harry and placed the silver belt her Pokeballs were all on around his waist. "I'll be just fine; besides, I didn't get you a present now, did I?" She teased lightly, tears falling down her face." She grabbed Harry in a hug. "Stay safe little brother."

"Don't forget about our Pokémon too." Cynthia said. She, the other Champions, the Gym Leaders, Gary and Ash all held out a Pokeball.

"We've already spoken to them, and they all agree with our decision. They will follow your orders like you were us." Lance explained. "For some reason they've taken a liking to you." He added with a smirk.

"But you guys need your Pokémon. Even if Ireth doesn't battle for awhile, you guys will still have challenges from other Trainers." Harry said, trying to dissuade them.

"Harry, we want to do this, this is our way of making sure you're okay. And if we can't trust our Pokémon, who can we trust?" Crystal said. "Besides, we don't only just have one Pokémon for battles, don't worry about that."

Speechless, Harry just hugged them all for the gift they were giving him. As each one clipped a Pokeball onto another belt, bronze colored, they said who was in it.

"Several of our Pokémon were never used in our battles with you." Pyro began, messing with Harry's hair. "Arcanine was one of them and will watch your back loyally."

"Kabutops will protect you with his blades." Aqua went next, kissing his cheek.

"Altaria will lift your spirits when you're down." Ario said, giving a one arm hug.

"Luxray will guard you like his own cubs." Bolt added, nearly shouting (and causing the other Leaders to sweat-drop).

"Venusaur will watch over you fiercely." Trema added softer, glaring at the Lightning Leader.

"Arbok will strike anyone that threatens you." Toxica said, giving him a hug.

"Dusknoir will protect you from the living or spirits." Spectra said spookily, creeping everyone out.

"Glaceon shield you from the bitterness of your enemies." Crystal said icy eyes soft.

"I've flown the world over with my Dragonite." Lance began, messing with Harry's hair (to the teen's ire at once again having his hair messed with). "Fly over yours with him."

"She's able to calm any fight," Wallace said, with a strange twirl (causing the other Champions to sweat-drop like the Leaders). "Milotic will shelter you from harsh words."

"She's never lost a fight other than the one with you," Cynthia said proudly, hugging Harry close. "Garchomp will never let you down."

"With Steelix watching your back," Astra finished, kissing his forehead, "You'll never have to look behind you."

"Blastoise has won more battles for me than I can count, he'll win even more for you." Gary said, giving Harry tight hug.

"You'll never find a more loyal Pokémon than Charizard." Ash said simply, hugging his little brother. "He'll take care of you." Pikachu lightly shocked Harry by rubbing his cheek against the human's, making his hair frizz and the teen to laugh.

Harry had a river of tears running down his face after what he was given. He was pulled into a hug by Delilah and Mr. Mime. "I love you like my own son, promise me that you will come back." She whispered.

"I'll do my best to return." Harry whispered back. When he pulled away, he was pulled into a three-way hug by the Rocket Trio.

"You got to come back kid, otherwise Jesse will pulverize me and Meowth." James said with a watery grin, making Harry laugh.

"I'll be counting the day until I see your beautiful eyes again!" Jesse gushed out, once more creeping the heck out of the three males.

"Take care of yourself brat." Meowth said affectionately. He was awarded with a couple scratches behind his ear.

Naomi pulled on Harry's arm into a hug with her, Nicky and Arctic. "You gotta come back in time for the next Festival cause you gotta defend yours and Ireth's titles as the Figure Skating Champions!"

"I'll be back before you know it." Harry said, being slightly crushed.

Oak grabbed him next, "Just like Ash and Gary, you're my grandson. So I expect you to tell me all about your adventures when you get back." Harry just laughed at the tried and failed 'Professor Tone' and nodded.

The hardest goodbye was last. Giovanni kneeled down to pull his son into his arms, Persian sitting close by, grooming her cub. "I've given you everything I can to protect yourself with. You must return to me otherwise I won't be able to go on." Giovanni whispered, face buried in Harry's black hair. Harry's own face was against his dad's shoulder, both were crying softly.

_"He's my cub; he'll take care of himself just fine. Of course the extra help doesn't hurt._" Persian said, licking Harry's face clean of tears.

"I'll do my best to come back and make you proud." Harry said into the shoulder. He pulled back, tears gone but eyes bright with new ones.

_"Harry, we've taken all of your belongings and put them into this trunk."_ Mew said. Below the three floating Pokémon was a beautiful ebony wood trunk. At first it seemed plain, but when Harry got closer he saw that every Pokémon in the world was etched into the wood. _"It's a lot bigger on the inside, got the idea from a strange human with a fake eye in your old world."_ Mew added.

_"We made it so that it only opens at your touch. It's also indestructible. Arceus could fire Judgment at it and it wouldn't even get a scratch."_ Celebi said proudly.

_"There are several sections to the trunk. All you need to do is think it and then open the trunk."_ Jirachi explained. _"There's one for your clothes, books, and personal items. If you want to add more compartments, all you need to do is think it. We also made it so that only you can use the Pokeballs, so even if someone steals them, they're useless. And they can't be destroyed by any means. We're just awesome like that." _Jirachi ended with a smirk.

Harry nodded, "Okay, thanks you guys…well, I guess I'm ready to go back."

"Wait! I have a question!" Naomi said. "When Harry's done with…whatever he's going to do, how will he get back?"

The Trio blink, _"Oh yeah…I knew we forgot something!"_ Mew says. Everyone gave a huge sweatdrop. The three Psychic Pokémon concentrated, focusing their powers on something. In between the three of them, a tiny red and white gem appeared, shaped like a Pokeball . After floating for a couple seconds, it lowered itself down and attached to Harry's second bracelet.

"Uh…it's pretty cool looking, but what is it?" He asked admiring the new bauble.

_"That is what will tell the three of us when you're done with what you need to do."_ Celebi said, sitting on Harry's head now. _"It'll start to glow when you're ready to return here. We'll come and pick you up."_

The emerald-eyed teen nodded and went to stand by the trunk. Turning around, he gave a bright smile at his friends and family, "I'll see you guys later. Bye for now." With those last words, Harry and his trunk started to float, before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Bye my son…" Giovanni said, hugging Persian.

In a flash of déjà vu, Harry lands in some very familiar bushes, the trunk right behind him. Looking up, he saw himself, vanish in thin air.

"Okay…that was a very weird thing to see…" Harry mutters, noticing his voice was slightly deeper. Standing up, he saw that he was taller and was wearing the clothes he wore when he first entered the Pokémon world. Glancing around, he saw that everything was exactly the same, like only a few seconds have passed by since he was last here.

_'With was just happened, that's a very real possibility.'_ Harry thought. _'I better check to see if I can bring anyone out.'_ Feeling for the Pokeballs, he was both happy to see that they were still there, on the separate belts and easily hidden, and surprised that he was able to 'sense' who was in what Pokeball.

"Well that will come in handy…Medieon, come on out!"

The Medium Pokémon shook himself out, _"This is a strange world already…Harry? Is that you?"_ Medieon asked shocked at his older Trainer.

Harry laughed and hugged Medieon, "Yeah, it's me, and I'm glad I can still understand you. Could you tell the others with your powers about this? So they aren't all shocked when they see me. When I was transported to the Pokémon world, the Trio made me younger for some reason."

_"Of course Harry, see you later."_ Medieon said before going back in his Pokeball.

Stretching, Harry turned around to his trunk and decided to see if his magic was back to normal. While he fished out his wand from his pocket, he was glad to remember that Sirius had several spells over the Black House, one of them being an anti-Ministry detecting spell, meaning that he could use magic and not get caught.

Harry was ecstatic to see his spell worked, shrinking the trunk. Placing it in his pocket, Harry noticed that he still wore the bracelet with the Gym Badges. Glancing at the other, he saw he wore his new charm bracelet as well. Feeling through his clothes, he found the necklace his father got him. Out of curiosity, he pulled his shirt forward, and groaned when he saw the scars he gained from the plasma whip were still there.

"Well, I think I've stayed out here long enough, I'd better head inside before they send a search party." Harry said stepping out of the bushes. As he made his way to the house, he was having an internal battle. _'Should I tell them about the Pokémon? They would have to believe me once I brought one out…but then they would either take them away to try to clone or breed, or use them themselves for the war. Besides, they were all entrusted to ME, I can't betray them or the others like that. I'll keep them a secret as long as I can'_ Harry mentally nodded. _'If someone catches a glimpse, I'll wing it. It's what I do best after all.'_

Inside the house, the party was still going on, what for Harry couldn't remember. Ignoring everyone, Harry made his way up to his room and locked the door. Seeing his old, tattered school trunk, Harry got an idea. Unshrinking his new one, Harry concentrated on a new compartment, School Stuff, and moved his spell books, robes, etc. into the new spacious compartment. His Invisibility Robe, photo album, and broomstick he placed in the Personal Stuff compartment. After cleaning out the old trunk, he shrunk it and placed it in the fireplace.

'Knock knock' "Harry? It's Forge and Gred, can we come in?"

The teen wizard let the Twins in and then re-locked the door, surprised when the two started adding several privacy and silencing spells. "There, not even our Extendable-Ears can hear what's going on." The first twin said.

"So Fred, George," Harry started, nodding to the correct twin and causing them to grin, "What brings you up here?" He asked, sitting on his new trunk while the twins sat on the bed.

"Well Harry-" Fred started, Harry always got a kick out of the way the twins spoke.

"Close friend-"

"Investor-"

"And little brother."

"We originally were going-"

"To come up here and-"

"Cheer you up with a prank."

"But when you came in-"

"You seemed so much happier-"

"And we were curious as to-"

"The reason why?" The finished together.

Surprised that they would even care, Harry started to fidget in his place. He wanted to trust them…but would they stay on his side or would they turn the Pokémon in?

Fred and George saw this and shared a concerned look. "Harry, we swear we only want to help you. Bugger everyone else who says otherwise." George said.

"We'll keep your secrets Harry, no matter what. You can trust us." Fred finished.

Knowing that he would need help with keeping his secret, Harry sighed, "I believe you" And broke into his tale. For over two hours he talked (all three were surprised that Mrs. Weasley didn't try to barge in for some reason), explaining everything from the Trio sending him to another world straight up to that point. He even brought out Medieon for proof, he even showed them the scars he got (Harry was even surprised that those carried over to his older body). Fred and George were a great audience, laughing (like when he woke up Ireth), crying (at him having to leave the family he made for himself), even yelling (when Kesorir tortured him) on behalf of Harry.

At the end of his tale, the twins sat in silence, awe clearly written on their faces. Harry, finally having enough of the rare silence in the presence of Fred and George, asked, "Well? What do you think?"

"Wicked!" They exclaimed together.

**The End of Part 1**


	25. AN Important!

**Hey! What are you people standing around here for?**

**The sequel is up!**


End file.
